Hands
by Whispatchet
Summary: Monsters are sometimes humanoid, but even so, very distinctly un-human. Skeletons, on the other hand, are very different creatures. Why is that? And why do they seem to be the only ones?
1. Darkness

Darkness.

It was all he remembered at the start.

Darkness, and long corridors, and a red liquid dripping out of his mouth and eyes with every step he took. Where… was he?

He finally came out of the corridors, into rooms. Rooms filled with odd contraptions. They reminded him of logic puzzles he used to play in his youth. Nothing drastically complex, thankfully, but, he still had to hold his sides while he did them, as though he would fall apart were he to let go.

Ugh, he was so tired.

Why in hell were these puzzles even here? And why, dare he enquire, did half of them involve falling down holes!? In his state, he was rewarded by the first of these by a horrid crack from his lower left leg, and white hot pain that spread across his whole body. Walking certainly became interesting after that.

Finally though, finally he made it to the end. It had taken him what felt like hours to navigate the infuriatingly simple puzzles, being as he had to lean on the left wall of every chamber to support his leg.

This place was baffling. After all those puzzles that were clearly meant to stop dull witted intruders, presumably so they would become impaled on spikes, fall down a slightly too long drop or just get stuck and starve to death... after all that, to see… what was essentially a regular house. Of course, it was abandoned, it would have been out of place had it been fully furnished and occupied, but, it was a nice change. And, Powers Bless, nary a puzzle to be seen. Which meant he could take his time exploring it.

He could have easily just stayed put, but, he wasn't especially put at ease by the abandoned home. No, no, he needed to continue. He wasn't sure where he was going, and he wasn't sure where he had been, but he did not want to stay here.

And instead of going back through the puzzles, in the basement, he found a large door with a symbol proudly engraved upon it. A new corridor? A backdoor, perhaps?

With a weak hand, he pushed the door open, and stepped through.

On the other side though, there was no left wall for him to use as a prop, and he promptly fell face first at the ground, a fresh burst of pain coming from his leg. But his mind became distracted from that, by the burst of cold hitting his face, as he toppled into a thick blanket of soft, fresh snow.

With weak arms, he pushed himself into a sitting position in the snow, looking at the red stains on it from the red liquid that was still oozing out of his face.

[Snow?] He wondered out loud, looking at the crystalised water.  
It was certainly not what he had been expecting. The room on the other side of the door hadn't been the slightest bit cold.

Speaking of the door, he turned his head at a low scraping sound, and watched helplessly as the large stone door slid shut. He didn't even raise a hand in protest. He was too tired to.

THUD.

He sat there in the snow, staring at the closed door for a long while. It wasn't until the area around him started to lighten that he mustered the energy to look at this new place he found himself in.

It was a redwood forest. Thousands of tall, sturdy trees spread out around him, every single one with thick clumps of snow clinging to their branches. From the state of the snow before him as well, this had only fallen perhaps an hour before he had come through the door- it was pristine, and glistening.

A shiver went up his back, and he decided it was about time to keep moving. He certainly didn't want to freeze to death, after all that! So, putting as much weight onto his better leg (he couldn't go so far as to say 'good leg') as he could, he trudged forwards through the trees, his dragging strides carving trenches in the snow, tinted red around the edges.

After what felt like an eternity, he heard voices. Voices meant one of two things. Either, he was losing his battle to not spiral into madness, or, there were people nearby.

Desperately clinging to the hope that the answer was the latter, he focused his energy into heading towards the sound.

It was a massive wave of relief in his soul when he found them.

They, admittedly, were children, who were currently having a snowball fight in a clearing, and, frankly, were the weirdest looking creatures that he had ever seen, but, regardless! They were people! He pulled himself against a tree on the edge of the clearing, and opened his mouth to ask for help, when one of them spotted him.

Her scream made his voice die in his throat.

Suddenly all the children were looking at him, and a second later, were either making for the proverbial hills with shrieks of fright, or, if they were a little braver, pelting their snowballs at him! He was sure that someone with massive injuries wasn't very pleasant to look at, but, that response seemed remarkably uncalled for!

One snowball was right on target, hitting him in his right eye. He tumbled backwards at the shock of it, the cold from the wet snow feeling like it was cutting right through him and hitting inside of his skull.

Perhaps this is what is meant by brain freeze? He fell backwards, and another burst of cold fogged his mind.

As his vision swam and started to blot out, he heard voices, in a language he didn't know, yet, could understand.

"...is going on…?"

"...Oh my…"

"...-ave you all done?"

 _"...what…. is he…?"_

Darkness.


	2. Engangement

When he woke up, he wasn't in the snow anymore. He was warm, and laying with his head on a comfortable pillow, and a soft blanket over his body. This was quite nice. He could stay like this for a while.

Except for the horrid pain still all through him, of course.

He blinked his vision into clarity, and stared at the ceiling. White tiles. Very…. medical. Tilting his head somewhat, he realised that there was a reason for that.

A creature, who reminded him of a rabbit with human proportions, was standing nearby, dressed as though she were a nurse. Some things were just so universal. It was nice to know that, in this strange place.

She blinked and looked down at him with surprise. "Oh! You're awake!" She remarked, voice light and fluttery, speaking again in that strange language that his brain understood, but, he didn't recognise the words.

She smiled at him, and started checking bandages around his wrists and face. "Don't worry, the Captain and the Royal Scientist will be here soon, to get this whole mess sorted out."

He opened his mouth and forced sound to come out. [Who….are they…?]

The look of surprise on her face was potent. It was when that look dragged for a moment longer than is should have, that he realised…. _she had no idea what he was saying…_

"I-I'm sorry… Say that again?" She offered.

[The Captain….. the… Royal Scientist….. who…. are they?] Ugh, it was almost physically painful how guttural and raspy his voice sounded. He used to have such a smooth, handsome voice.

She frowned at him. "I'm sorry… I still don't understand." She gave him a sympathetic look. "But, I'm sure the Royal Scientist and the Captain will know what to do."

She fluffed up his pillow a little, and then scurried away from his bedside. Leaving him to stare some more at the ceiling.

Where in hell was he?

True to the nurse's word though, he didn't have much more than an hour to ponder the bizarre situation he found himself in. She returned to the room, this time with two other figures in tow. One, presumably the Captain due to the armour he was wearing, had four legs and a lower body like a dog, but was otherwise rather avian looking. The other, standing in a white lab coat, was more like a jester, with face half covered by a mask, and spines rather than hair.

Idly, he realised that both of them seemed to have that same symbol that he had seen on that large door in the forest on their uniforms.

"Is this the one?" The Captain asked in a voice that was somehow shrill and gruff at the same time.

"Yes Captain." The nurse said. "Some of the villagers brought him in. They were… afraid."

Afraid? He thought. Of me? Why?

The Captain stomped over to his bedside, while the Scientist slunk up on the other side. He tried to push himself into a sitting position, but the scientist put a hand on his shoulder. "Now now." He said softly, voice a pleasing tenor. "You're very weak. We're just here to see what you are, and then we will be on our way."

[What… I am?] He responded. [Shouldn't it be…. obvious what I am?]

The two officials both started at his voice and words.

"What kind of language is that, Marcan?" The Captain exclaimed.

The scientist only shrugged. "Not one I have heard before."

Okay, that was irritating. He was sure the words were coming out of his mouth correctly, why was it he could understand them, but they couldn't understand him?

"Well, in either case, we may as well get this over with. Captain?"

"Aye!"

The scientist smiled down at him from behind his mask. "We need to see your SOUL, sir."

[What?]

They didn't answer in words. Instead, the Captain fixed him with a look… and suddenly the room was black. There was only three of them.

"The hell is that?" The Captain squawked. Barked. Squbarked?

He felt a tug at his chest, and looked down. Floating just above his torso, there was a heart, angled with the point towards his head. It was white, and glowed softly.

"It LOOKS like a Monster Soul but the colour is wrong. And is glowing." The Scientist answered, rather more perturbed than was good practice for a doctor.

[This…. is my soul?] He wondered, reaching a thin hand towards it.

"Don't TOUCH it, you fool!" The Scientist shouted at him.

His hand froze, fingers a hair's breadth from the heart. He looked up at the two figures owlishly.

The Jester creature huffed at him, folding his arms. "Haven't you ever seen a soul before?"

He shook his head. A soul was, so far as he knew, something meant to be intangible. Theoretical, really. The fact that his looked like this, it was as much a surprise to him, as it seemed to be to the two of them.

"Doctor, this guy understands us, somehow." The Captain said, watching the non-verbal response from the confused one before them.

"Yes, it would seem that way." The scientist responded. "Well then." He directed his voice back to him. "Take your turn, then. We Engaged you, you make the first move."

He honestly hoped his confused expression was intense as it felt.

"Choose an action!" The Captain snapped at him, starting to get impatient. "You CAN see the Commands, can't you?"

Commands? What commands? They watched him look around for them.

"I don't think he can see them." The Captain whispered to the scientist.

"I don't think he knows what to look for." The scientist whispered back. "Listen! You should see somewhere four boxes with words in them! Your soul will project them for you! FIGHT, ACT, ITEM, MERCY! Commands of Engagement!"

"Never thought we'd be teaching a grownass man how to Engage…" The Captain added in a grumble.

He looked back down at his soul, where it was floating above his ribcage. This little heart was meant to project something? It _was_ glowing, he supposed, so, it could….

Oh!

There they were. Four boxes with words in them, just like the scientist had said. FIGHT, ACT, ITEM, and MERCY.

Well, fighting was definitely a non-option. Even had he wanted to, he was darn sure that he would be hopelessly overpowered by these two.

Act was a really unhelpful option. Act...how? Do... what?

Item? Did he have anything?

Out of curiosity more than anything else, he prodded that box with a slender finger. A dull 'tunk' noise was all that resulted from the effort, along with the impression, that, no. He didn't have any items.

He glanced up at the two creatures watching him. The Captain was clearly impatent for their 'turn', and the scientist was unable to hide how outright baffled he was at how he'd never done this before.

He whimpered a little, and prodded the Mercy button. He was suddenly presented with two different options: Spare, and Flee.

He was still laying in a hospital bed, so running away would probably not be overly successful. Spare… was that him, sparing them, or him asking to be spared?

After a moment's thought, he pressed the 'Spare' option. Either it was him asking to be spared, or him sparing them any more waiting.

The Captain laughed. "As if you're in any condition to spare us!"

The scientist sighed. "At least he finally took a turn. It's ours at last."

The Captain raised a sword, and swung it in his direction. Tiny white swords materialised in the air trailing behind the swing, and headed straight for his heart-soul.

They… they were attacking him!

The scientist had told him not to touch it, but, he couldn't help it. With a burst of strength he wasn't sure where he got, he lurched up into a sitting position in the bed, and curled himself around his soul, pressing it into his chest with his arms, putting himself between it, and those attacks.

The two officials shrieked in surprise, the scientist adding, "I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH IT!" In a yelp.

The barrage of tiny swords punctured his back like pin pricks, and he yelped in pain. He felt his breathing speed up. It wasn't as though he wasn't already hurt! Is this how they treated the injured in this crazy place?!

He leant back from his soul, noting that it was still there, unharmed, still glowing peacefully.

He glanced at the two officials. They were staring at him, gobsmacked. He got the impression that they didn't want to Engage him anymore.

He spotted the MERCY button off to one side again. He prodded it, and quickly chose the 'spare' option as it appeared.

The blackness evaporated from around them, and they were back in the hospital room. His soul vanished into his torso, and he pet his chest where it had disappeared.

The nurse was huddled in the corner, having watched the display, and apparently been frightened by it.

The scientist huffed, and headed for the door. "He isn't human." He said firmly. "You can be certain of that."

"We… we will leave him to your care, Abigail!" The Captain said, sheathing his sword and hurrying after the scientist. "We must report back to the King!"

And, just like that, they were gone.


	3. Bones

_He's not human. You can be certain of that._

Those words rattled around in his mind after the pair left. Not human. Not human… then what was he?

He looked down at his hands. They were very very thin, but wrapped in bandages.

"Sir? Are you alright? Here, let me get you something to eat… that should make you feel better." The nurse… Abigail, the Captain had called her, was shaking. "You do eat, don't you?"

He looked at her, and found himself nodding slowly. But all he could think, was how frightened of him she was.

She scurried out of the room.

 _He's not human…_

Frowning, he put his fingers to his cheek.

And they tapped against smooth bone.

[Wh…. what the….?]

He grabbed his sheets, and pulled them back, looking at his body. He was wearing a plain, loose fitting shirt, and loose pants, with his left leg in a firm, thick cast. But underneath those clothes…. there was no skin. No muscle. Just bone.

Trembling, he looked back at his hands, and ripped the bandages off.

Just bone.

The scientist had been right. He wasn't human. _He was what was left of one._

[But…. how?!]

It was then that Abigail returned, holding a tray with a salad and some crackers on it. She frowned at his expression, and how he was looking over his bony body with such a befuddled look.

"Sir?" She ventured, stepping forward. "Are you alright?"

The confused expression turned slowly to her, but turned back to himself a moment later.

Abigail placed the tray she was holding on the patient's bedside table. "You seem… surprised at what you look like." She put a hand on his shoulder, noting how he jumped and snapped around to stare up at her. "Would you… like a mirror, sir?"

He watched her for a moment, before nodding. [Please.] His voice made him wince.

She darted out of the room, only to come back moments later, her handbag clutched in her paws (pawbag?). She rummaged around inside it for a moment, before pulling out a small, round compact mirror. She held it out to him, and he took it, with shaking skeletal fingers, before opening it and looking at himself.

Only to have two tiny pinpricks of light staring back at him from black eye sockets.

He was a skeleton from top to toe.

"Um…" Abigail said after a while. "When you were brought here, you still had… flesh on you. Enough that we thought you might have been a human. But as you slept, it sort of… rotted away. We weren't sure if you were alive or not, but, you still breathe as if you are, so…"

He glanced at her. He was alive?

He still felt alive. He still had the sensation of touch, and pain, so he imagined so. But, still…. how?

"Once you feel up to it, sir, we can find you a home in one of the cities beyond the Ruins. Here in Snowdin is nice if you don't mind the cold. Waterfall has a milder temperature but is a very damp place. Hotland is much warmer, as it's closer to the heart of the volcano. And then of course there is New Home, the Capital." Abigail told him. "Do you have a name, sir?"

He looked up at Abigail. He could tell it was taking a lot of effort for the poor girl to continue talking to him. She understood more about the Engagement with the officials from the Capital than he did, and whatever it was, frightened her. Was it his white soul? Was it him being able to touch his with no consequence?

[Gaster.] He told her.

"M….Mr Gassterrr." Abigail attempted to imitate his rasp, making him wince. She made a valiant attempt at a smile for him. "We will care for you until you are strong enough to look after yourself. So you don't have to worry, alright?"

Gaster sighed. It would take a lot more than that.


	4. Language

It was a further two days before Gaster was able to stand on his own. His leg was still broken, of course, but the rest of him didn't feel as weak as a newborn kitten, and crutches became a possibility.

And, he was finding himself to be a baffling creature.

Under the clothes the hospital had given him, he was quite literally all bone. Exactly the skeletal structure he would expect from an adult male human.

And yet, he felt as though he still had flesh sticking to his bones. He could blink and smile, and pull an expression that felt like wrinkling his nose, and, weirdly, the bone of his skull adjusted to make the expressions he would have otherwise needed muscle for.

When he ate, it didn't just fall out of him again. He'd eaten shirtless to make sure, as well. Once he swallowed the food, it was just…. gone.

Interestingly, food and drink going in did not equal waste coming out. So, wherever the food was going, it wasn't into a digestive system… or at least, not one like he'd ever heard of before.

The Captain and the Royal Scientist did not return to the hospital, although he heard Abigail speaking to one or the other on the phone a few times during his stay. Usually to give them a report on his health condition, and, from straining his hearing, they had told her to keep them updated on any strange behaviour, as well.

It made him frown, thinking about it. What possible threat they saw in him, he didn't know. THEY were the ones that had attacked him, after all.

Communication with Abigail and the other hospital staff was also something of a challenge. He could understand THEM just fine, but every time he opened his mouth, all he got was a baffled look. He'd managed to stop them dragging out the syllables of his name at least, after convincing them with much effort, that, no, that was not how the name was said, there was just something wrong with his voice.

Not having vocal chords any more may have been a contributing factor.

He'd tried writing things down for them, as well, but that hadn't been any more successful than speaking out loud. The letters that he wrote down, according to them, were just random shapes, not intelligible language. He knew his handwriting wasn't the neatest but that was rather insulting!

It wasn't until he had snagged one of the books from behind Abigail's desk that he realised why.

THEIR letters were very different to the ones he was familiar with. And, unfortunately, whatever force it was translating their spoken word for him inside his head, was not doing so for their written word.

And the impression he got, was that everything was written with these letters.

By the Powers, he had to learn to read again.

He'd never been bilingual but…. he would have to make an effort to be now, if he planned on getting anywhere.

On the morning of the third day, Abigail entered his room, after speaking on the phone, to the Royal Scientist today, he thought. He'd spent a lot of the night trying to work out how he was going to go about learning how to speak the common dialect, but save from outright asking someone to teach him, he'd not come up with any ideas.

"Good Morning, Mr. Gaster." Abigail said, that same, polite, yet uneasy smile she'd been wearing for him on her face. "How are we feeling?"

He looked over at her, and offered her a more genuine smile. He actually felt pretty good. For a creature that was essentially dead.

She presented him with his breakfast on a tray. Some porridge, an apple, and some juice.

Gaster pondered the fruit, and scooped it into a bony hand.

[Abigail?] He said, watching as her eyes snapped to his in what he could have sworn was terror. He tried to not look upset at the reaction, and tapped a finger against the apple in his other palm, looking at her inquisitively.

"Ah….d… do you not want…. the apple…?"

Apple. The way she said it sounded like… "Ah… pll." He attempted.

She stared at him. "Ah….. yes! Apple, Mr Gaster!"

Goodness woman, what in hell were you so spooked by? He was just trying to work out how to say the name of the fruit, not beat you to death with it.

He leant over, and pulled a notebook and pencil he had been successful at miming for, and wrote out how he would write the name of the fruit.

A hand with fore and middle fingers extended in a V, thick edged box, thick edged box, solid coloured circle, up-down-up-down arrow to the right.

Yes, no matter which way he looked at it, what he had just written, said apple.

He looked over at the spooked nurse again. He held his notepad and pencil towards her. "Ahpll, Abigail?" He asked.

"H...huh?"

He held the items out a little further, smiling to try and convince her he wasn't going to hurt her via this request. "Ahpll."

"Y…. you…. want me to….. write apple?" She ventured.

His nod of enthusiasm was probably a little too enthusiastic for her timid state.

But, nevertheless, she took the offered pencil and notepad, and wrote the word for him.

Five letters, just like his had been, but, hers looked more…

A, P, P, L, E

He stared at the word once she placed the notepad back in his hands. [Apple.] "Ahpll." He mused, tracing the shape of her letters with a finger. "Hmm.."

Abigail took his thoughtful silence as an opportunity to slip out of the room.

They were simple enough letters. Certainly easier to write than what he was used to. And, unless he missed his guess, directly corresponded to his own script.

Gaster was baffled. Why? Why were the letters different, but the word the same? He just didn't get it.

He stretched, and tucked into his breakfast. Language was only the first thing he needed to work out. Also on his list there was, where he was, how he got here, how he died, would also have been a good one… and, what he was going to do next. He certainly couldn't stay in the hospital forever. Abigail probably wouldn't be able to stand having him here much longer.


	5. King

When Abigail returned to his room at lunch time, she was accompanied by the doctor in charge.

"Good day, Mr. Gaster."

The doctor here was a canine, looking pretty well like a dog aught, except standing on his hind legs and wearing a well tailored outfit. Gaster's opinion of the doctor was not overly high… he found the man to be aloof and, frankly, rude.

"We have been discussing your predicament with the King." He said, taking note of the other man's look of surprise. "As it is quite evident that you have no means to pay for the medical aid, nor for anything thereafter, his Majesty Asgore has provided the hospital with gold enough to pay for your treatment, and has also had some sent to get you on your feet."

Abigail jingled the bag she was holding, to indicate that it was full of gold coins.

"As such, it is time to release you from our care. We do expect you to return in about three weeks to remove your cast."

Gaster blinked. Just like that, they were kicking him out?

Well, the nurse assigned to him was outright terrified of him (for no reason, really) and none of the other staff liked him much either, so it wasn't much of a surprise, but….

"We have obtained some basic possessions for you… clothes and the like." The doctor added. "But, we will be saying our goodbyes today."

And with that, the doctor turned on his heel, and strode out.

Abigail placed the bag of coins on his bedside table, and then said to him, "I'll bring you some clothes. It won't be much, just a few pairs of trousers and some shirts."

[Thank you, Abigail.] Gaster responded, not able to say it any other way.

She looked at him confusedly, but smiled and headed for the door anyway.

An hour later saw him trudging through the snow in Snowdin's town square. And trudging really was the word. With a cast still on his left leg, and a single crutch to help him get around, doing any more than a slow, awkward trudge was beyond him.

He was wearing brown trousers and a cream coloured sweater, with a backpack on his back for his spare clothes and his King-gifted bag of gold coins.

He was still having trouble believing that they left him twisting in the wind, just like that!

It was also upsetting how the people of Snowdin continued to stare at him like he was some sort of axe murderer. He hadn't DONE anything, damn it all!

But, he was noticing, the people of Snowdin were all strange creatures. Animal creatures for the most part but…. there wasn't a human among them. He got the impression that there was some sort of poor feeling against humans here.

And he felt somehow like he should know why.

He hadn't done anything. That he was certain of. But the feeling that other humans had a lot to answer for was impossible to shake.

Ugh. Not that he was human, of course. He had a weird white Monster Soul, after all.

"Hey!"

A voice cut him out of his thoughts, and Gaster cast his eyes ahead of him.

Standing in the middle of the road was a giant creature, with broad shoulders and white fur. He had two curved horns and a blonde beard, and a small crown on his head. He was dressed in a suit of armour, with a trailing purple cape and golden pauldrons. And a crest on his chest plate… which Gaster was starting to think meant something important.

The creature stomped through the snow towards him, stopping before him and looking down at the much shorter creature with big golden eyes.

"Are you Mr. Gaster?" He asked.

Gaster shrank into his crutch, and nodded mutely.

The creature smiled heartilly. "Funny I should see you all the way out here! I did tell them I would collect you from hospital!"

Even if Gaster had spoken the right language, he wasn't able to muster more than a confused expression at that.

He put a hand on his chest. "I am Asgore Dreemurr! King of Monsters!" He said proudly. "I understand that you don't have anywhere to stay."

Gaster blinked at him. This was the king. The king that had paid for his medical expenses, then gave him a large bag of coins to get him on his feet.

Asgore grinned. "I had thought, as it will take some time to find you a house and get you comfortable, you should come and stay in my castle with my wife and I!" He blushed a little. "Toriel is pregnant, and can't move around much. I am often busy with work, and so, perhaps in exchange for the shelter, you could keep her company!"

Gaster spluttered. What?! What kind of person just let a random stranger, a random stranger that everyone else seemed to think was a threat mind you, into your home, to tend your vulnerable wife?!

"Come, let's get you out of the snow!" Asgore continued, before reaching down, grabbing Gaster by the waist and fully lifting him off his feet.

Gaster yelped in surprise (and yes, a little fear as well) shouting, [GAH! Put me down!] as he was wrenched into the sky.

Apparently, that was not the response that Asgore was expecting, and he outright dropped Gaster in surprise, causing the smaller creature to land on his backside in the soft snow with a [OOF.]

"Oh golly… oh… Mr. Gaster.. I'm sorry! Are you alright?!"

A little winded but otherwise alright, Gaster looked up at Asgore, who was currently fretting. [Don't DO that…] He wheezed out.

Asgore looked embarrassed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, Mr. Gaster. You looked like you were having trouble with the snow so I just thought…."

He dropped down to one knee in the snow beside the smaller creature. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Gaster sighed and managed to smile reassuringly. He nodded. [I'm fine, your Majesty.]

Asgore blinked a few times, then straightened in realisation. "Ah! That's right… they told me that you could not speak our language, but seem to understand it alright." He put on that eager to please, goofy smile again. "My wife Toriel could teach you, if you were willing, Mr. Gaster."

He gasped slightly. Really? She could?!

Asgore chuckled. "Your expression says that you like the thought!" He offered Gaster a hand. "I won't try to carry you again, Mr. Gaster. But, if you would like to come and stay at our home with us, you are most welcome. If you accept, shake my hand."

Gaster stared at Asgore's hand for a long moment.

And then, reached out, and shook it.

What did he have to lose?


	6. Magic

Asgore had, thankfully, done good by his promise to not pick Gaster up again. Instead, he got the shorter creature to walk behind him. Initially, Gaster wasn't sure why this was, but it was a remarkable solution to the problem at hand.

The King's massive body and hulking strides cleared a path through the thick snow, which made it much easier for him to hobble along with his crutch.

"We're heading to the canal!" Asgore said, looking over his shoulder at his new companion. "It's much faster and safer to get to the capital from here, by boat!"

And what a boat!

The canal ran along the edge of town, winding off into the distance. It was clearly a man-made… er, monster-made, cut in the earth, the builders having gone so far as to line the edges of it with cobblestones.

The boat was almost as wide as the canal, and built out of wood, with a large canopy over the top, and gilded in gold and silver. Standing at the helm was two figures, wearing hooded cloaks so that you could not see their forms or faces. One of them was tiny compared to the other…. it made Gaster think of a child.

The King waved cheerfully to them. "Sorry to make you wait, Cas!" He called.

The taller of the two bowed, while the smaller one simply bobbed up and down a little. "No bother at all, Asgore." They turned their hooded head towards Gaster, making him lean back apprehensively. "You found your friend!"

[You are already calling us friends?] Gaster couldn't help but ask, giving Asgore a sideways look.

Asgore looked at him confusedly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Gaster… We should find out some way of communicating until you learn… Hm…" He tapped his chin in thought as he stepped over to the boat and easily stepped over the gap onto the deck.

He then looked over at Gaster. "Ah…. I could help you across?"

Gaster offered that suggestion an exasperated expression, but, after inspection of the gap, had to admit… with his broken leg, he would either need help, or tumble into the water of the canal.

Asgore chuckled lightly. "No harm in asking for help, Mr. Gaster." He said. "I'll just, pick you up, and put you down again… just… don't yell at me this time, alright?"

Gaster huffed, but, nodded, lifting his arms a bit so Agore could grab his waist. Ugh. He hadn't been picked up since he was an infant! How embarrassing…

Asgore was quick, and gentle, swiftly grabbing him and placing him on the deck of the boat in one movement. He left his hands on Gaster's waist for a moment longer than needed, to ensure that the crutch was well on the deck boards before letting go.

"There you are, Mr. Gaster! Safe and sound."

Oh how Gaster wished his expression spoke words.

Asgore simply smiled. He turned to the two hooded figures. "Alright, Cas, we are ready to depart, for the Capital!"

'Cas' smiled, and bowed. "Certainly." The hood turned to the small creature at their left ankle. "Rivi, be a dear and get the anchor."

"Yes Mama." It answered, bopping off to the edge of the boat.

Gaster watched it move. It slid along so smoothly… did it even have legs?

But then?

It stopped at the edge, where the large metal anchor was suspended by a thick chain. The little creature pointed its head towards the chain… and the whole tiny figure began to _glow purple._

From thin air, a flurry of purple strands, twisted like rope or spiderwebs, wrapped around the chain of the anchor, and pulled it out of the water, placing it on the deck.

And then, job done, the small hooded creature trotted back to it's mother's side, the glow vanishing into the snow.

Asgore nodded at the display, before turning back to Gaster, mouth open to say… something.

But whatever he was about to say, died at the horrified expression on the smaller creature's face.


	7. Flavour Text

Asgore couldn't believe it. Gaster was staring at Rivi, eye sockets perfectly round, lightpricks that served as eyes retracted to tiny specks, mouth agape.

It was as if he'd….

No, no that couldn't be right… surely he'd seen magic before. All Monsters could do magic, after all! Maybe it was just…. the purple sort?

"Have you not seen Purple Magic before?"

He hadn't seen ANY magic before! Humans couldn't…. couldn't DO magic!

Gaster hissed and looked away, clenching his fists. Darn it, why did he keep thinking of himself as a Human? He had a Monster Soul, didn't he? That meant he was a Monster!

"Hey now… Purple Magic is a rare sort… normally only Spider Monsters can use it…."

"M-Miss Muffet has…. been teaching me…" Rivi piped up, earning a pat on the head from their mother.

"You've learned well." They assured them.

Gaster huffed and gave Asgore a sideways look. [Humans can't do magic.]

Asgore frowned. "D...don't tell me… that look means you've… never seen… any magic… at all?" This was not at all what he had been expecting! "But… all Monsters can do magic!"

Gaster ground his teeth. This Monster/Human thing was getting his usually even temper rather out of point. [I'm NOT a Monster!] He shouted, before sitting himself down on the deck, facing away from them, in a definite sulk.

Asgore looked at the two hooded figures at the helm of his boat. Cas simply shrugged their shoulders, Rivi tilted their head to one side confusedly.

Asgore rubbed the back of his neck confusedly. "Perhaps… we ought set off…"

Cas nodded, and the boat started to glide through the water.

Asgore took a seat on the large chair in the middle of the deck, facing the bow, where his new companion was brooding.

The King sighed. When they called him and said there was a strange creature that had been brought to the Snowdin Hospital, and no one knew what he was, he wasn't expecting a skittish, essentially non-verbal… skeleton.

He'd never seen a skeleton before. And, by his behaviour, Gaster had never seen a Boss Monster before. Or, any other sort of Monster. But, that was absurd… he couldn't be stuck down there with them having never seen his own kind before. His Royal Scientist and Captain had assured him that he had a Monster Soul, but…

Now that he thought about it, they had seemed unsure about that last point. They had said, 'Monster Soul' but had seemed… hesitant. They had Engaged him, presumably, but after they had returned from Snowdin, the Captain had seemed on edge, constantly drilling the troops to defend themselves better. And the Scientist had decided to begin refreshed study on Monster Biology, focusing on Soul Conditions.

All because of this strange man.

"Say, Mr. Gaster… I know this will be hard for you to answer just now… but…. " Asgore started, watching as Gaster looked over his shoulder at him with a suspicious look on his face. "Where in the Underground have you been living until now? I'm sad that we have not met before."

Gaster blinked at him. [Underground?] The skeleton then looked up… and spent the next few moments staring at the cavern ceiling.

Asgore frowned. "Surely…. you knew we were under ground?" It didn't seem like it.

This man was becoming more and more of a mystery. He had never seen magic before, he didn't know they were under ground…. surely he hadn't still been on the surface? The humans had been very thorough.

He sighed. "Mr. Gaster… will you Engage me?"

The shocked eye sockets snapped to look at the King.

"Don't fight on the boat, Asgore." Cas chided.

Asgore smiled reassuringly. "I don't want to fight."

Gaster eyed him suspiciously. [Then why Engage me?]

Unable to understand the question, Asgore made a guess. "When we Engage one another, it puts our whole selves on display. Our Souls, yes, but also our other statistics. Our HP, DEF, ATK… it's basically like showing one another a complete diagnostic of ourselves."

Gaster arched a brow. HP? Hit Points? What was this, a video game?

"My Captain and Royal Scientist didn't tell me much." Asgore admitted. "They were supposed to Engage you, and inspect your stats. Partially to see if you were Human, but also to see if you were likely to be violent."

[THEY attacked ME.] Gaster protested.

"But all they told me, was you did not have a Human Soul." Asgore sighed. "So, if you would be so kind, Mr. Gaster…. allow me to see for myself?" He asked. "You will be able to see my stats in return, of course."

[I don't care to see your stats!] Gaster growled out, his newfound rasp making the unfamiliar words sound outright menacing.

Rivi hid behind their mother.

Asgore sighed. "I hate having to be stubborn, Mr. Gaster." He said. "If you will not Engage me, then, I will Engage you."

[Wh...wait a-]

But, it was too late. Asgore locked eyes with Gaster, and the world went black again, his white soul pulled from his chest, and the Commands before him.

Gaster slumped. [Ugh…]

What could he do? He knew what options were under that Mercy button. Could he run? Or would Asgore do good on his word saying he didn't want to fight him?

Gaster looked up at the King, who was watching his every move curiously. Asgore smiled at him. "Take your time." He said. "Is this… new to you, too?"

Gaster looked away.

"Ah." Asgore understood perfectly. "Well, let me give you a quick rundown. There are always options. FIGHT will let you focus your energy into attacking an enemy. ACT will give you suggestions on some things to do that will have an effect on your opponent. It will also give you an option to check the other person's stats. It's what I will be doing on my turn." He chuckled. "The other two, should be self explanatory."

Gaster huffed. This was all very complicated. But, he didn't have any choice but to play along…

He hit the Act button, and two options popped up: CHECK and TALK.

As if talking would have any effect at this point. So, he jabbed the Check button.

His soul flashed a little, and Gaster saw, thankfully, in words he understood, words appear in the blackness beside Asgore's head.

 _ASGORE DREEMURR_

 _King of the Underground. Likes gardening and tea._

 _HP 4500_

 _DEF 90_

 _ATK 90_

Gaster stared at the numbers. 4500 seemed like a lot. But, having said that, he didn't know what a good average was.

"Golly!" Asgore remarked, looking at the words beside him. "What odd letters! Is this what your language looks like?"

Gaster frowned, but nodded.

Asgore chuckled as his stats vanished. "You ought teach me, Mr. Gaster! They look like a secret code!"

[It's just Basic WingDings… ] He sighed, rubbing his arm.

"Alright! My turn!" Asgore declared. "And…" Gaster watched him quickly, confidently select his own Act button, and the Check option offered thereafter.

Gaster didn't like how surprised Asgore looked upon seeing his stats. He turned to look at them.

His name was written in WingDings, just the way he thought it should be written, although everything else was in their script. What…. what did his little description say?!

"Your stats are….. quite low, Mr. Gaster. You only have 10 HP… 4 DEF and 2 ATK…" Asgore said. "Although…. from what it looks like, you have all your HP…" He looked down at the cast still around Gaster's leg. "You shouldn't still need that. I'll get Marcan to take it off for you when we get to the capital."

Asgore looked back up at Gaster's information. "What does this mean… 'Did not die of Natural Causes'?" He asked.

Gaster spluttered. [What!?]


	8. New Home

Asgore wasn't sure what to make of this. Gaster seemed about as shocked at his 'flavour text' as he was. Which was weird. That little description was usually just some fun little fact or introduction, and sometimes you had a little control over what it said.

This, didn't seem like a fun fact. And, come on, Gaster wasn't dead. He was very much alive! He wouldn't be on this boat with him if he weren't.

For his part, Gaster was beyond 'shocked'. He sank to the floor, grasping at his head. He was right about at the end of his tether with all this nonsense!

[Did not…. die of…. natural causes….!] He muttered, raspy voice shaking to no end.

He had supposed that he was dead. He hadn't seen any other option. He'd died, and been put into this weak, shambling body, surrounded by creatures that didn't speak plain language! He was in HELL!

Asgore put a hand on his back gently. "Hey… Mr. Gaster… come on…. don't…. let that flavour text bother you…" Asgore didn't believe his own words, and you could tell. "I don't know what it means, I don't know where you are from, and I don't know how it is you came to be here, but, you are always welcome in the Underground."

Gaster tilted his head towards Asgore, a lost man staring up at the King through those deep eye sockets.

Asgore smiled reassuringly. "You're safe with us."

He shouldn't have been able to cry. But all the same, silver white tears trickled down his cheekbones, dripping onto the deck as the blackness of the Engagement dissipated around them. Gaster slumped forward and just stared at the deck, watching his tears pool before him.

For lack of better options, Asgore chose to leave Gaster where he was until they reached the capital. He could only imagine what the poor man was going through. He wished he'd known where he'd come from though, in case there were other Monsters there, completely at risk, completely unawares.

Asgore deftly hopped the gap between the boat and the dock at the edge of the capital, before looking back at Gaster, smiling.

Gaster had managed to stop his tears about an hour ago, but he still had smudges on his pure white cheeks. He felt… tacky. It was a familiar, uncomfortable feeling, after one had just sobbed their metaphorical guts out. What he wouldn't give for a shower, and a hot meal, and then a large bed to just hide in for at least a week.

[What's that look for?] He asked Asgore, too tired to try and work out what the larger creature was planning.

"You should be able to walk on that leg without any pain. Your HP is maxed out!" Asgore told him.

Gaster looked down at the cast, unsure. He glanced back at Asgore.

"Trust me!"

Ugh, this guy… he had this goofy, charming personality that Gaster just couldn't stay cranky at.

With a deep, long-suffering sigh, Gaster made an attempt off the boat.

He nearly pitched backwards into the canal due to the curve of the bottom of the cast, but Asgore caught him by the sleeve before he went for a dip in the slightly grey water. "Oop! Careful there!" He chuckled. "But, see? No harm done."

Gaster groaned, but, had nothing to say to that.

He adjusted his backpack, and picked up his crutch. It was going to be far more comfortable walking with a limp due to the cast, than having to half drag his leg along with aid of the crutch.

Asgore smiled. "Come along. There isn't much of a walk between here and the castle." And with that, the King was off, throwing a casual, "Thanks again for the ride, Cas!" Behind him.

"Always a pleasure, your Majesty." Cas responded.

Gaster looked back at the two hooded figures on the boat. Being non-communicative was vastly limiting, but, he should at least try…

[Thanks.]

He then gave them a nod, and then limped after Asgore, certain they had no idea what he had just said.

The treatment that he had received in Snowdin all of a sudden seemed rather like a warm welcome. The people of the capital, New Home, were in much greater numbers. And although Asgore managed to draw some of the eyes away from him by being overfriendly and giving the people big waves and hellos as they passed, there were still so many frightened, befuddled stares that lingered on his back as he limped in the King's wake.

Gaster groaned and allowed his shoulders to slump, unaware of Asgore watching him. [Why is this happening…] He whimpered.

Asgore reached over and pet his back again, making him jump and stare at him, whole body very tense. "Cheer up." He said. "It will all work out."

Gaster sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that hour. [I wish I could believe that.]

"The hell!" A sudden, loud voice echoed across the hum of the crowd around them. "Guards! To arms!"

Asgore and Gaster looked up, and the part dog part bird Captain of the Guard was ahead of them, standing at the top of a set of stairs that led to… the biggest castle Gaster had ever seen. The skeleton felt his gaze being pulled up to the highest towers of the castle, away from the somewhat more urgent threat of an irate Guard Captain.

Guards poured out of the castle and surrounded them, pointing spears in their direction.

Gaster pulled his eyes away from the size of the castle, and looked around. It took him a moment to realise that, they weren't worried about Asgore… every single spearhead was pointed at _him._

[Oh good. They've come to kill me again.] He groaned.

Asgore, as of yet not disillusioned with the whole situation, was rather put out by the welcome. "Vaden! What is the meaning of this?" He asked, voice as close to a shout as one could get without actually shouting.

"That… that…. _person…_ " Vaden seemed to have trouble deciding what word to use there. "...has followed you from Snowdin!"

"Well of course, Vaden!" Asgore huffed, starting to look unimpressed. Gaster didn't know he knew how to make that face. "It's usually what happens when you invite them to come. Guards!" He turned his attention to the assorted creatures around them. "This is most impolite! Stand down!"

The guards all glanced at their Captain, but then, obeyed their King.

"You ASKED him to come!?" Vaden was gobsmacked. "But… but he…!"

Asgore arched a brow. "He… what, Vaden?" Asgore asked, lowly. "...Is there something from your visit to Mr. Gaster in Snowdin that you neglected to tell me?"

The Captain spluttered. "N….no!" Was the denial of a man that had been caught with one or more of his feet in his mouth.

Asgore regarded him for a moment, then smiled that pleasant smile of his again. "Excellent. In which case, there is no problem. Do make sure that he is kept as safe in this castle as my family are, won't you?" The King put a hand on Gaster's back, and started to guide him towards the entrance.

"Yes….. your Majesty…." Vaden growled out.

Gaster bit his bottom lip (or, the bit of his face that served as such, at any rate) in an attempt not to smirk. He couldn't remember anyone sticking up for him in such a manner before, and, being as this was someone he had no fond memories of, it was actually surprisingly satisfying watching him squirm under the gentle disapproval of a giant marshmallow like Asgore.

As they passed through the courtyard, the Captain's very cranky voice could be heard snapping orders at all the guards in the distance.

"Triple the guard! I don't want a cockroach to get in or out of this castle without someone seeing it!"

Asgore sighed heavily. "Goodness, what has his feathers in a fluff?"

[My white soul, and my being able to touch it during Engagement without any ill effects, I guess.] Gaster retorted, fully alright with saying that out loud, being as no one had any idea what he was saying anyway.

Asgore chuckled. "Mr. Gaster, I still have no idea what your words mean." He said. "So, I am going to presume you have just been utterly honest with me."

Gaster gave the man a confused smile. [How does that help you?]

Asgore didn't respond with words to that. Instead, he just pat his back and gave him a huge smile.

"Ah, welcome home, your Majesty!" Said a new voice.

Ahead of them in the corridor there was a pair of creatures, dressed as though they were servants here. These two were both reptiles, standing on two legs, with clawed feet and hands, and vibrant scales.

"Mayda! Helei!" Goodness, Asgore really seemed to know utterly everyone's name, didn't he! "How is my wife?"

They both bowed to him. "The Queen is well. She is reading in the study." Mayda, the one with black and red scales and a longer dress, answered.

"Ah, excellent." Asgore nodded. "We will go there now. Oh, ah, actually. Helei, do something for me."

"I am at your beck and call, Majesty." Helei, with white and brown scales and an apron over her dress, responded.

"Brace yourself; I need you to drag Marcan out of the Lab…. kicking and screaming if you must. I wish to speak with him. And, I need him to take this unnecessary cast off my friend's leg."

The two reptilian females looked at one another, then looked rather obviously at the cast on Gaster's leg.

"Huh. As you wish, your Majesty." Helei responded. "I'll go find a stout rope."

Asgore burst out laughing and started back down the hallway. "I know I can count on you!" He said jovially. "Come along, Mr. Gaster! Let me introduce you to Toriel!"


	9. Castle

The study was a large room, decked out in warm timber panelling and soft red rugs. One half of the room was more like a library, full of books, with couches and pillows, whereas the other half had a few desks and chairs, good for working. Sitting on one of the couches there was another large creature like Asgore, with white fur, and horns.

Her horns were very small compared to Asgore's, though, and she didn't have the beard or hair that he did. And, she was quite pregnant.

"Tori!" Asgore called out as he approached, grinning widely.

The female looked up from her book and smiled lovingly. "Gorey, you're back! How was Snowdin, love?"

He sat down beside her and the two nuzzled noses in a sickeningly adorable manner, before he looked over at Gaster. "It was good! I've brought someone for you to meet. Mr. Gaster! Come over here!"

Gaster looked at the pair awkwardly, but nodded. He leant his crutch against the wall near the door so he didn't have to carry it anymore, and limped his way over to the pair of goat like creatures.

"Toriel…" Asgore said as Gaster approached. "This is Mr. Gaster. He's in a bit of a tough spot, so I have invited him to stay with us for a while."

"You would house the whole kingdom here if you could." Queen Toriel said with a giggle. "Hello, Mr. Gaster. I am Toriel."

[Hello.] Gaster said, standing stiffly before the two of them. He wasn't sure how to behave… he hadn't bowed or anything for Asgore, so, it seemed rather daft to do it for Toriel, but, would he piss the King or Queen off if he didn't? He'd not interacted with royalty before.

Toriel blinked her eyes at the unusual word that came out of his mouth.

"Ah, yes, Tori…" Asgore said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Mr. Gaster doesn't speak our language." He told her. "He understands when we talk, but, I don't have the foggiest idea what he says in return!"

Gaster rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Oh my…." Toriel put a hand over her mouth, a little alarmed by that.

"But! That's why I brought him here!" Asgore said, grinning at his wife broadly. "I know you need company, and I _know_ you wanted to get some practice for when the little one is born…. Mr. Gaster seems keen to learn our language, if you were keen to teach?"

Toriel was delighted by this idea. "Oh, really! You… you would have me teach you, Mr. Gaster?"

Gaster nodded. Even a small, rudimentary vocabulary would help.

"Oh, how delightful!" She was practically bouncing in her seat. "Do you know any of our words at all, Mr. Gaster?"

Gaster blushed, then said, "Ahpl?"

She squeaked. "Apple?"

He nodded. "Ahpl."

"Is that all?"

Another nod. He was sure his pronunciation was off, but, she knew what he meant, and so, that was communication enough.

She smiled at him. "Ah, do not worry, Mr. Gaster! I will teach you many more!"

He smiled back. The enthusiasm of the King and Queen was starting to override his horrid mood…

"Your Majesties, pardon the interruption…" Cut in a voice from the door.

The two Royal creatures and their skeletal guest turned, and saw Helei standing there, looking a little scuffed up, but grinning.

"Ah, Helei." Asgore grinned back at her. "How'd you do?"

The female held up a rope in her left hand. "Got him."

Gaster stared at her. [You meant that literally?!]

From a little way down the hall, you could hear the voice of the Royal Scientist, kicking up quite the fuss. "I SWEAR TO GOD WOMAN I WILL SKIN YOU AND TURN YOU INTO A HANDBAG!"

Asgore sighed and pulled his bulk out of the lounge, and trotted over to the doorway. He poked his head out, and looked at the very well bound Marcan on the floor.  
"We wouldn't have to resort to this if you at least tried to be more agreeable, Marcan." He said with a huff.

The scientist stopped struggling, and turned his head to look at his King. "I will do no such thing. Why do you always interrupt me when I am working, Asgore?" He snapped.

Gaster blinked from where he was standing. The scientist was possibly the only creature he had met so far that was not treating the King like an old friend. Buuuut, that may have had something to do with being tied up and dragged across the floor.

"Because you are a hermit who is always working, and sometimes I require the skill and knowledge of my Royal Scientist." Was Asgore's response. "Thank you, Helei, you can untie him, now."

The female reptile bowed to her king, and her hands glowed green for a moment, before the thick rope binding the scientist went slack.

"Rutting trap magic…." Marcan hissed, pulling the rope off himself and getting to his feet, in a right snit.

Gaster shuddered, seeing more magic. He wasn't at all sure if he was ever going to get used to that. Or, truthfully, if he wanted to.

Asgore sighed. "Come on, Marcan, I have a task for you. Then you can get back to whatever it was you were working on."

The jester like creature bowed stiffly to his King, still mightily peeved.

The Boss Monster motioned for the Scientist to follow, and returned to the study. "I trust you remember Mr. Gaster?"

Marcan froze in the doorway, staring at the skeleton standing in the middle of the study.

"What…. are YOU doing here?"

Gaster responded before he could stop himself. [Hanging out.] He shrugged. [What are YOU doing here?]

The unfamiliar words made Marcan hiss.

"He is here as my guest, Marcan, so do not treat him poorly." Asgore said, somewhat warningly.

"You INVITED him?!"

Asgore frowned, and folded his arms over his chest, which made Toriel stand up, slowly and awkwardly what with her baby belly, but up all the same, and stand beside him, looking at him worriedly.

"Yes, I did." Asgore responded. "I got a similar reaction out of Vaden! You both opted to say nothing about your visit to Snowdin, and so I have no reason to believe that Mr. Gaster is any threat to us here!"

The jester scientist ground his teeth.

Asgore fixed the scientist with a disappointed, somewhat cranky expression for a time, before relaxing his posture. "Now, Mr. Gaster has full HP, and yet the hospital did not deign to remove the cast on his leg. As you are medically trained as well as your other fields, I would like you to remove it."

"Wh..?"

"I trust you can do this quickly and professionally for me?"

The scientist sighed. "Of course, my King. At once."

Asgore put a gentle hand on Gaster's back. "Go on. He will take your cast off for you."

Gaster whimpered, and looked up at Asgore, distinctly uncomfortable with this prospect.

"Marcan won't hurt you, Mr. Gaster." Asgore promised him.

Gaster pulled a face, which indicated that the shorter creature did not believe him, but, he limped over to the scientist.

Marcan narrowed his single visible eye at him. "Come on. Let's get this over with." He then led the way out of the study and down the hall.


	10. Kill

Marcan's irritable mood was almost a visible aura as he stalked down the hallway, Gaster limping a polite distance behind him. To Gaster, the most irritating thing about this whole situation, was he had no idea what it was about him that had Marcan and Vaden so damn spooked. He wasn't a threat, no matter how much they thought he was.

The scientist led him quite some way though the castle, before finally coming to what Gaster could only have guessed was Marcan's lab. It had a blast door, and the surrounding walls and floor were somewhat scorched, presumably from before the blast door was installed.

[Good god…] Gaster muttered.

Marcan fixed the skeleton with a glare. "You better not be making remarks, Gaster."

Gaster flinched, and put his hands up in front of his chest in a very clear 'I meant no harm!' kind of gesture, more spooked than he had liked by the simple way Marcan had just said his name… without the familiarity of a friend, and without the friendly honorifics everyone else had been using… it unnerved him. [Not at all!] God help him if his face and voice didn't sound honest.

Marcan huffed, and typed in a passcode to open the door, slinking inside before it had finished sliding open.

Gaster followed once the door was open all the way. And was met with, what he thought was a fairly standard research lab. He even recognised most of the equipment, although nothing on the large chalkboards meant anything to him… and maybe wouldn't have even if he could read their odd words.

"Sit down over there." Marcan growled, pointing to a medical berth off to one side, covered in dust.

Gaster complied. The faster they had this over with, the faster he could get away from the scientist. And, maybe, after Toriel taught him their language, he might be able to work out why the Scientist and the Captain hated him so much.

Marcan returned, holding a small circular saw and some cloths. He slid a small stool over. "Put your foot up." When Gaster did so (so fast it almost seemed like the skeleton was panicked) he flicked on the saw, watching it whir for a few tense seconds before starting to do a careful cut in the cast.

Gaster was understandably on edge. Marcan could take his leg off with that saw with one movement, and Gaster would be remarkably hard pressed to stop him.

And, frankly, this whole thing that Asgore kept talking about… 'HP'... how did that work? If he stubbed his toe, would he lose HP? If Marcan cut off his leg at the knee, how much would he lose? Some of it? All of it? Would he die again? What sadistic facet of the universe got to decide how much HP someone lost when they got hurt?

He idly wondered how much HP he had left when they found him in Snowdin.

...And it wasn't until he noticed that the sound of the saw had stopped, that he realised he'd lost himself in thought.

He looked back down at his leg just in time to see Marcan stick his fingers into the hole he had made in the cast, and rip it off his leg with a nauseating _**CRACK.**_

Gaster managed to crush his yelp of distress almost entirely, the remnant coming out as a strained, "GNNF!" sort of noise.

"There." Marcan deadpanned, putting the cast to one side.  
Gaster swallowed, trying to stop his heart (Or the thumping in his chest that felt like a heart, anyway. His heart shaped soul, maybe?) from pounding against his ribs so much. He looked down at his leg. There wasn't even a scar or anything. He flexed his foot, and rolled down his pant leg. He had his spare shoe in his backpack, but he'd really rather get out of here before getting i-

Before Gaster could finish the thought, a powerful hand grabbed him by the collarbone and slammed him down against the berth, knocking the wind out of him. He squeaked, and looked up at Marcan where he was standing, putting all of his weight onto the more slender creature.

"I don't know what you are." Marcan growled. "And I don't know what you are planning. But, I will not let Asgore's foolishness be our undoing! Not after all this!"

He brought the small saw around again, it's whir making Gaster's breathing stop.

Marcan grinned. "You only have 10 HP. I can do this fast enough that you will dust before Engagement starts." He started to move it down towards Gaster's face. "You've had your last turn, Gaster."

No.

No...no no…..

Nononononono _no_ _**NO [NO!]**_ Gaster screamed the word out frantically, throwing his arms up to try and push him off…

And suddenly the weight was gone…. and the world was white.

When he could see again, Marcan was floating above the ground on the other side of the room, a white glow surrounding him, looking for all the world like he had bashed his head on something.

Gaster sat up. No….. he wasn't floating… he was…. being… suspended! But, by what?

"How… how are you… doing this!?" The scientist hissed, sounding like he had a collapsed lung or something. "How did you…. attack me… without…. triggering an Engagement….?!"

Wh… what? He wasn't… doing any…

Gaster then realised that his arms were extended in front of him. He looked down, and found that his hands… were glowing white!

Marcan hadn't stopped talking, desperately struggling against whatever magical hold he was in. "You… YOU…. You aren't bound by Engagement! You… your magic is WHITE! Your soul is WHITE! You are a FREAK!"

Gaster looked back up at the scientist, and locked eyes without thinking, and the room went black as Engagement surrounded them. Their souls pulled out of their chests; Gaster's glowing white, and Marcan's grey.

[What…?! What the devil?] Gaster breathed, terrified.

The Commands appeared before Marcan, it seeming to be his turn. He kicked the Fight button, his arms seeming to be pinned in place by the white glow that was still clinging to him.

"I don't have to move to fight you!" He declared, the spines on the back of his head glowing a bright, aqua colour, before shooting out like stingray barbs, heading for Gaster in a wild scatter.

Gaster yelped and jumped off the berth, desperately trying to keep out of the way. Somehow, he managed to avoid them all… but, while Marcan was throwing curses in his direction at the failure of his attack, Gaster caught sight of himself in a mirrored panel on the wall.

The tiny pricks of white light that had served as his pupils… had taken over his eye sockets entirely. His eyes were wide, completely white, and empty. It made him shudder.

"TAKE YOUR GODDAMN TURN!" Marcan spat out, following it with some curses.

Gaster jumped and squeaked. [I…. I don't want to fight!] He shouted, swinging an arm at the Mercy button and the Spare option with fast movements.

Words flashed in the air between them, jittering harshly.

 _You don't want to fight any more…_ They said. _...but it was too late._

He didn't much like the sound of that.

Gaster looked up at Marcan… and his hands flew to his mouth.

 _Marcan's soul was covered in white cracks._

Gaster may not have had much idea what was going on, but that didn't seem good! Marcan noticed Gaster's expression, and looked down at his soul….

And let out a shriek of horror and rage that echoed through the castle. _"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"_

Gaster opened his mouth to respond, to apologise, to try and say or do anything, but, the notion died as more cracks appeared, their sound like shattering glass.

The anger in the scientist evaporated, replaced by fear.

And not a second later, his soul was completely white….. and then it shattered into pieces.

Gaster thought he was going to be ill. He sank to the floor clutching his midsection.

Helplessly, he watched as Marcan's body lost it's colour….. and disintegrated into a fine gray dust.

The blackness of Engagement evaporated, leaving Gaster sitting on the floor of the lab, eyes and hands still glowing.

 _What…. had….. he done….?_


	11. Run

Marcan was dead.

He knew that. He was certain of it. And it was _his fault._

Gaster grasped at his head, tears trickling down his cheekbones. [Oh GOD… I….. I killed him…. he's….] Unbidden, an image of Asgore appeared in the skeleton's mind. And he had to fight from throwing up.

The King would be furious.

He'd been so kind (irritating, but kind), and let him into his castle, at the protest of his Guard Captain and Scientist, and what had he gone and done? _MURDERED ONE OF THEM._ If he didn't just set Vaden onto him, Asgore could snap him in half himself.

And he'd be well within his right to.

Gaster let out a defeated wail. He didn't want to die again! But he couldn't just not own up to this… he couldn't not turn himself in!

"Professor Marcan, are you in here?" Called a voice from the door. "I heard shouti-..."

Gaster gasped shakily, turning around, spotting a monster he didn't recognise standing in the doorway, staring at him.

The skeleton could only sit there as the monster's eyes took in the magic still glowing off his eyes and hands, and the pile of dust on the floor on the other side of the room, with Marcan's coat nestled in it.

"Y….you….!" He stumbled backwards, and then, sprinted down the hall as fast as he can, screaming, "GUARDS! GUARDS! MURDER! _MURDER IN THE CASTLE!"_

Gaster didn't remember standing up, he didn't remember staggering out of the Lab, and he didn't remember legging it as fast as he could go. But, he found himself running blind through the halls of the castle, and he couldn't make himself stop.

The news got to Vaden quickly. And, his fur and feathers puffed on end as he listened to the report from the underling before him.

"We have four units sweeping the castle now, Captain…" He was saying. "From the frantic words of the science wing apprentice that discovered the act, the culprit is a… skeleton monster?"

Vaden growled. " _ **GASTER!**_ I knew it! I knew that bonehead freak show was bad news!"

The underling shrank back.

"Get all available guards on the search for this asshole!" The Captain barked. "Move in pairs! I don't want a single person alone with him!"

"King Asgore should be informed…." The underling told him in a small voice.

The noise that Vaden made sent shudders down the other Guard's back.

"Oh don't worry….. I will be telling him." Vaden clenched his fists, and then yelled at the top of his lungs, "I WANT HIM ALIVE! NO ONE IS TO KILL HIM BUT _ME_!"

The other Guard didn't even stop to salute the Captain. He just went off at a sprint to pass on the orders.

Vaden was furious. Marcan… his best friend… had gone dust at the hands of this…. this…. _aberration…_ normal Monsters didn't have white souls… NORMAL Monsters _could not touch their soul and live!_ So he was clearly some sort of human in disguise! They could have coloured souls, and their souls were so much stronger! That HAD to be it! They had lots of abilities….. so maybe that was one of them!

He stomped down the halls of the castle as he pondered this, the shouts from his guards as they searched for Gaster echoing around him. He had over a hundred guards looking through what was, in the scheme of things not a huge castle… he must have been very cunning to stay away from them.

The avian canine was so angry he wasn't even going to be smug to Asgore. There was not going to be any I-TOLD-YOU-SOs.

He didn't have to go the whole way to the study to find his King. Asgore had heard the shouting, and, leaving Toriel there with Helei as protection, he had gone out to see what was going on, ending up meeting Vaden half way.

"Vaden! What on earth is going on? Why is the whole guard running about in a panic?!" He exclaimed.

Vaden just looked at him. "Marcan is _dead._ " Oh he wished he was in the mood to enjoy the look on their idiot king's face. "...By Gaster's hand."

"Wh….no… that… can't be right." Asgore breathed.

"Believe what you want, Asgore!" Vaden snapped, and Asgore blinked, realising that Vaden was deathly serious. "Marcan is DEAD. We have a witness who came across his dust, with a monster that fits that White Soul creature without a doubt!"

Asgore frowned, and was about to respond, when another Guard ran up to them. "Captain! Captain we found him! He's in the gardens! All units are heading there!"

"That bastard is MINE!" Vaden declared, a spear in hand, making a break for the gardens. "He won't escape me!"

"Vaden! VADEN!" Asgore exclaimed, making after him.

When they arrived at the gardens, most of the Guard was still to arrive. The eight units that were here, though, were quite clearly forcing someone against the wall.

Gaster looked for all the world like he had been hiding in a bush. His eyes and hands were still glowing brightly, and he was terrified. [No...no no no! no no no!]

Vaden growled and stomped towards him, Asgore not far behind.


	12. Lights Out

Asgore's eyes went wide as he took in the scene in front of him. Gaster looked wretched. Guilty, terrified, exhausted and…. it wasn't pain, as such… he didn't seem to be actually hurt. But, something was using up his power at such a fast rate it was in the same category as pain.

The glow of the skeleton's eyes and hands was a worry to the King, though. It was magic, that much was clear… but Asgore had not seen White magic….. since…..

Two of the guards closed in on Gaster, well before Vaden was able to get close. The action made the slender creature yelp in terror, and his hands snapped out at them as he stumbled back against the wall.

The two Guards suddenly froze still, the white glow curling around their torsos.

Asgore could see everything happening as if it were in slow motion. Gaster glanced at his hands, as if his own body were betraying him, and he wrenched them down, using them instead to steady himself against the wall.

[Not again… not again! No!] He was sobbing.

If this were any other monster, such a thing would have cancelled the spell, but, the two Guards stayed where they were, utterly frozen, with the white glow spreading across them.

Vaden was stomping over, shouting about why Engagement hadn't come into effect, but before he could get much closer, the two guards at the front became completely white…. and crumbled to dust.

Gaster let out a horrified wail, fingers digging into the sides of his skull harshly, tears running in rivers out of his white eyes.

Asgore took a quick glance at the other Guards, and there was a clear, unified thought on their frightened faces. But, Asgore knew exactly what this was….

Vaden took the chance to get within range, and initiated an Engagement himself with the wreck of a creature kneeling on the grass. "I will kill you for what you've done, GASTER!" He shouted, summoning a hail storm of spears above the skeleton. "You're not even paying attention to me! So I get sneak attack advantage! SO YOU DIE WITHOUT HAVING A TURN!" Vaden was beside himself with anger. "MARCAN WILL BE AVENGED!"

Gaster looked up and let out a shriek of horror, for more reasons than just the spears poised to turn him into a pin cushion. [No… no get away from me!]

" _ **DIE!**_ " Was Vaden's answer.

But, as the spears came down, a ring of glowing red fire surrounded Gaster, deflecting every single one.

And then, a large, white paw came down on Vaden's shoulder, and the Captain of the Guard found himself being dragged out of Engagement by the much larger Asgore.

"What the hell are you _DOING?!"_ He screeched.

"There has been enough death today!" Asgore boomed. "You shall not add to it!"

He deposited the Captain on the grass, before heading back to stand before Gaster.

Gaster looked up, still beside himself. [A...Asgore…. s….stay away from me! I'll hurt you!] Goodness isn't that all he needed… .

But, Asgore kept coming, part of his face hidden in shadow, a sad smile on the part that was visible.

Gaster pressed himself into the garden wall. [Asgore… don't…!] He was fighting to keep his arms by his sides. If he let them move…

"Mr. Gaster…" Asgore said, coming ever closer. "What you have done… cannot be reversed."

Gaster's control over his arms wavered.

"But…. we can make sure this doesn't happen again." The King lifted his head a little, to show his whole face. He wasn't angry… not in the slightest.

He reached into his clothes, and pulled out a heart shaped locket, offering it to the frightened creature. "Take this."

Gaster clearly didn't understand how the tiny golden locket would help, but…. Asgore had just saved him… he wouldn't trick him…. would he? He swallowed, and reached a shaking hand out to take it.

The moment his finger bones touched the smooth surface of the locket, Gaster went stiff, eyes going wide, as though lightning had just gone off inside his head. The white glow in his eye sockets flickered once, twice, and then, went black, like a lightbulb dying.

Gaster stood paralyzed for a second, then another. And then, with the tiniest of twitches, went limp as he lost consciousness. Asgore caught him before he hit the ground, scooping him gently into his arms.

Vaden was less than impressed.

"THE EVERLOVING HELL, ASGORE!?" He screamed. "Why did you stop me!?"

"As I said!" Asgore answered. "I did not want to have to watch anyone else die!" It was very rare that the jovial King Asgore was angry, but now, he fixed a look of anger onto the Captain of the Royal Guard that made the avian canine flinch. "You would have not survived, Vaden!"

Vaden spluttered. "Wh… What?! I wouldn't have lost…. to HIM!"

Asgore sighed. "In a hand to hand fight, no. Probably not. But when it comes to magic… Mr. Gaster very much had you out classed, my friend."

"How can you SAY that?!" He squarked. "And…. how can you stand there and hold him so carefully when he's killed THREE PEOPLE in the last hour?!"

"That, Vaden…." Asgore said sadly. "...Is something you won't accept just now." He turned to the guards standing around them. "Gather the ashes of those who have fallen today, and send them to their families with their compensation. Let them know I will be holding a funeral service for them in a few days. But please… do not speak to the citizens about how they passed. I will be speaking to them personally. After you have done that, you may return to your usual patrols."

"Yes, your Majesty!" They said in unison, before scattering to follow the order.

Vaden was having none of it. "You can't possibly be PARDONING him!"

"I am. And I will have no arguments, Vaden. Please." He sighed. "You are dismissed."

Anger faded, surprise spiking in its place. "Di….dismissed!? Y…. you're FIRING ME!?"

"No no!" Asgore offered a tired smile. "I'm sending you home. I expect you back tomorrow… but I want you to go home. Grieve your friend. Come back tomorrow with a calmer mind. And I can explain everything."


	13. Please

Toriel didn't much like the look on Asgore's face when he returned to the study with an unconscious Gaster in his arms.

"...Gorey…?"

"...We lost a few good men today, Tori." Asgore said, sounding far tireder than he really had any right being. "...Marcan, and two of the Guards…"

"Oh no…. what…. how?" The Queen felt tears come to her eyes for the fallen.

"Mr. Gaster….. lost control of his magic. And he has…. very dangerous magic indeed." The King gently placed Gaster onto a couch, making him as comfortable as he could, before heading towards one of the bookcases. "...A magic I haven't seen….. since my Grandfather was alive."

Toriel looked over at the small figure on the other couch. He was dirty, and his face was still wet from tears. But, at least, the anguish he had been suffering didn't show on his face while he was unconscious.

"What kind of magic?" She asked.

"White Magic." He responded, pulling a book off the shelf. " _Time Magic._ "

"...Time…. Magic?" Toriel whispered. "I didn't….. know there was such a thing…."

"It's certainly not a common magic, that's for sure. Maybe one Monster every few thousand years inherits it? I can't explain it…. but…. Marcan and Vaden knew there was something different about him from the moment they met him in Snowdin…. they just didn't want to tell me about it. And, in the end…. it's been Marcan's downfall."

Asgore finally let the tears for those that had died today fall down his cheeks. "Stubborn men as they are… had they just said…!"

Toriel stood up, and walked slowly over to her husband, wrapping her arms around him tightly. "Shhh…. Oh, Gorey….."

He hugged her back.

The King and Queen held each other for a long time, before the infant in Toriel's belly gave a kick, making her squeak with surprise. Asgore looked at her round belly for a moment, and then smiled. "If I didn't know better, I would say the little one was giving me a talking to."

Toriel smiled lovingly at him. "Gorey, you are a living creature like any other, with a heart like any other. You are allowed to grieve."

Asgore kissed her forehead. "I know. And I wish it would help those that had fallen down… but…"

"We are born, we live, we die." Toriel said. "That is just the way things are in this world. There are no do-overs."

"I suppose not."

The Queen then looked over at the skeleton on the couch. "How did you stop him?" She asked.

"...The Heart Locket."

She blinked at him. "The Heart Locket? You mean the Magic Seal you made for our child?"

Asgore nodded. "What I saw out there Toriel…. it was an explosion of magic that was the same as any child's Awakening I have ever seen. It was fatal because of the _type_ of magic he wields, but…. that's all it was. I'm certain. The fact that the Locket stopped it was proof enough for me."

Toriel frowned. "But… isn't Mr. Gaster…. an adult? Magic Awakenings usually happen when a Monster is about two years old…"

"Yes, usually. But….. Mr. Gaster has more secrets than I think even he knows he's keeping." Asgore said solemnly. "Cas' child, Rivi, used Purple magic to pull up the anchor on the boat, and Mr. Gaster freaked out, as though he'd never seen magic before. So, maybe he never had his Awakening before now."

"I've never heard of such a thing before…"

Asgore held Toriel by the arms. "It's the only thing I can think of, Toriel. The only reason I can fathom why what happened today happened. And, because it's White Magic… we must be careful!"

It was then that the quiet of the study was shattered by a terrified yelp, making the King and Queen jump slightly. Gaster had come to, and shot into a sitting position, breathing heavily, clutching at his chest.

Asgore sighed and smiled at him. "Mr. Gaster?" He said gently, walking over.

Gaster jumped back from him. [G….get away!] He whimpered.

The King put his hands up. "Easy, easy.." He whispered. "It's alright, Mr. Gaster…. you're safe… Everyone is safe."

Gaster watched the large creature carefully, hands trembling. He looked down, not wanting to make eye contact with him, and, in doing so, noticed his hands.

He looked at them curiously. The glow was gone.

Asgore only smiled. Seemed that the best approach in this situation was to pretend that Gaster was a small, terrified child. "See? All is well."

Gaster curled in on himself. [I….. I didn't mean to…..] He muttered.

"I know you didn't mean to kill anyone, Mr. Gaster." Asgore said, making Gaster look up in surprise. He hadn't understood him, had he? It had…. it had been a guess, surely!

"If you had meant it….. you wouldn't be crying."

Gaster put a hand to his cheekbone, and sure enough, the tears had started again.

Toriel came over from where she had been standing, and wrapped her arms around Gaster's shoulders.

"Poor child…." She muttered, all too aware of how Gaster didn't even try to resist. "I can only imagine how you must feel…."

Gaster was so confused. He was a murderer. So then why…[Why….. are you being so nice to me….?]

Asgore smiled. "Mr. Gaster….. do you know… what happened today?" He asked, eyes sad.

Gaster looked up at the King, and slowly shook his head.

Asgore sat down on Gaster's left, and took his golden crown off his head with a sigh.

"All Monsters are born…. with an innate talent for magic. The type of magic we can use, differs from person to person… My magic is Red… a fire magic that is typical of Boss Monsters like us. There is also Aqua magic and Orange magic… which are both movement magics… they are two sides to the same coin."

He smiled at the skeleton. "There is Purple, which is ropes, Green for Traps, Yellow for Electricity… all the major elements are represented. Most people have an elemental magic, but Aqua and Orange are also common."

Gaster sniffed, but nodded to show he understood. He wasn't sure how it was relevant, but…. He swore to himself he wasn't going to dismiss any information Asgore was willing to give him. Especially if the King knew some way to prevent what had just happened from happening ever again…

"There are more… uncommon magic types as well, often only manifesting in a handful of Monsters at a time. One of those magics….. is White."

Gaster drew in a deep breath. [Wh….white?]

"White is Time Magic… a very powerful, very volatile variety…" Asgore looked Gaster square in the eyes. "And you, Mr. Gaster?" He said. "You have more magic in your pinky bones than most common monsters have in their whole bodies. So much magic, your soul _glows_ with it."

Gaster looked down at his chest, thinking of his glowing white soul.

Asgore leant back against the back of the couch. "When I Engaged you on the boat, I saw your soul. It looked like a Monster Soul alright, so there is no mistaking what you are… but, that little Heart of yours glows white with your magic. Which… sadly…. I think is what spooked Marcan and Vaden so much when they came to Snowdin to meet you."

The King shook his head. "And, to top it off, your body had no idea what to do with all that magic. it's actually normal for people to go through that."

"We call it an Awakening." Toriel added. "Very small children get it as a normal part of growing up, like learning to walk or talk."

Gaster was not okay with this. He was not okay with the conclusions he was drawing.

"I don't know why you only Awakened now, but, this…" He reached over and touched the little golden locket that Asgore had hung around his neck while he was unconscious. "This will keep your magic clamped down until you can control it. Boss Monsters are prone to… extended Awakenings…. and I had made that one, for this one." He reached around Gaster to pet Toriel's belly. "But right now, you need it more."

Gaster took it in his hands and ran his fingertips over it.

"I'm sure you have questions, and, I wish I could answer them for you." Asgore continued. "But, until you can speak the right language…."

Gaster cut him off with a nod. [They'll have to wait….. I understand.]

"I think…." Asgore said after a few moments. "I think….. you should live with us."

Gaster started. [Even…. even after all this!?]

Asgore didn't understand the words of the protest, but it sounded like a protest. "Don't think I didn't see how the people in Snowdin and New Home were looking at you, Mr. Gaster." He said softly. "The others are afraid of you. It would be hard to find somewhere to live… some way of earning gold…"

Gaster looked away, uncomfortable.

"This…. is only a theory…" He continued. "But, I think that it's like that because no one has ever seen Skeleton Monsters before you. And…. " He gave a little half shrug. "You may know this, but, Monsters are very in tune with magic. I think, because your magic is so raw, so…. uncontrolled…. I think the others can feel it. Not… literally, but just… a feeling. And your magic is so unusual too…. That, is why I think they look at you that way. They can sense your unusual power."

Toriel rubbed his back reassuringly.

"But, we can teach you how to tame that wild magic. How to speak our language. We can help you… if you want."

Gaster looked between the two a few times, and thought really hard.

Not about his answer, he had decided that within moments.

The fact that these two were willing to so completely forgive him for what he had done… just because they knew it was beyond his control, was unbelievable. How could any creature have so much understanding and kindness in their hearts to be able to do that? He wasn't sure if he would have been able to if he were in their position.

And yet, here they were, consoling him about things he couldn't change. If they weren't willing to give up on him because of this, maybe… maybe he could put in the effort too. He'd do everything he could to make it up to them! Everything he could to do right by the families he had shattered with his actions!

But what he was thinking about was about context. About memory. And about pronunciation.

"Pl…."

The King and Queen blinked at him.

"Pl..ple…. _please_ ….!"


	14. Friend

Toriel was an enthusiastic teacher. And while what Gaster approached his lessons with was not exactly enthusiasm, he was a quick study none the less. In a few days, he had learned a lot. Enough to at least have some sort of conversation with someone; how he was, asking how they were, that sort of thing.

Initially, the plan was simply to teach him the alphabet and vocabulary, but Asgore and Toriel both had insisted that Asgore teach him about magic, as well. And Gaster was significantly less thrilled about that idea.

But, he supposed, it made sense. The locket that he now wore to keep that magic in check probably wouldn't work forever… or, perhaps they wanted it back when their child was born.

But, the King had, thankfully, told him they wouldn't ask him to work on that for a good long while.

But, Gaster couldn't say that he disliked their company. Toriel and Asgore were so full of kindness it was unfathomable.

Not to say they were the only ones, of course. The two maids he had seen before, Helei and Mayda, were genuinely kind to him, more than happy to exchange friendly hellos, allowing him to practice talking to people that weren't Toriel or Asgore.

Although, it wasn't as if he spent a lot of time in a position to have much conversation outside of those four. A lot of the staff, and the entire Royal Guard kept their distance from him. Based on the first impression he gave them, he didn't blame them, either.

But, as the days there turned into a week, it was starting to take it's toll on him. And…. so was something else.

"Are you alright, Mr. Gaster?" Mayda asked him one day, spotting him as he walked down the hall from his room to the study. He wasn't meeting Toriel for lessons today, but, he liked to translate the books there in his spare time. "You seem tired."

Gaster started, and looked at her. "Mayda… He...hello."

She smiled for him. "Hello." She then repeated her question. "Are you alright?"

He frowned a little. "Am….. okay."

Which was a filthy lie. He wasn't okay at all. He hadn't slept more than a few hours a night since he got here, and he was just too worried about how people would respond if he told them he was having…. nightmares.

To her credit, Mayda didn't seem to believe him. "Are you sure, Mr. Gaster?" She asked. "You have dark circles under your eyes."

Gaster put a hand to his face. How in heck did his skull do that? He sighed and looked away from her. "Am...okay." He said again.

"You're a dreadful liar."

The skeleton squeaked and looked at her with wide eyes. She was still smiling at him. "You're just like my daughter." She said. "You don't have to be strong all the time." She reached out and put a hand on his arm. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Gaster whimpered. "I… don't know." He said. "It… not your…. problem."

"Oh pish tosh!" She returned. "You are very dear to my King and Queen, and they would be distressed if they saw you like this. And I don't like it when my King and Queen are distressed." She narrowed her eyes and grinned with her sharp teeth.

Gaster swallowed.

Her look softened. "Besides…" She said. "It's nice to have friends you can confide in."

The skeleton blinked. "Friends? With….. me?"

She nodded. "If you'd like."  
He blushed a little. "S….sure."

Mayda beamed at him. "Come on, let's go sit under the peach tree."

"But!" Gaster protested. "Your work!"

"It's fine. I have it under control."

Truth be told, Mayda and Helei had been asked by the King and Queen to look after Gaster when they weren't around. They weren't worried that he would take the Locket off and go mental around the place, but they had a little less faith in the other Monsters in the castle. Fear was one of those things that could drive even the friendliest creatures to cold actions and words… and they wanted to make sure that Gaster didn't have to deal with any of that without backup.

But, Mayda and Helei actually quite liked Gaster. He was still very skittish after the Incident, but generally, polite and thoughtful. And smart. Very smart. Mayda was spoken for, but, that didn't mean she couldn't try and coax her cousin!

She led him into the gardens, not oblivious to how he hesitated at the gate. It must have been hard on him… she sure as hell wouldn't want the entire guard chasing after her! Some of those guys were really tough!

She sat down on the grass under the peach tree and adjusted her skirt delicately, before petting the grass beside her with a scaled hand. "Come sit, Mr. Gaster." She said.

He sunk down beside her, and hugged his knees to his chest with a sigh. She pet his shoulder. "What's bothering you, Mr. Gaster?"

He looked uncomfortable. "...I…. " He whimpered, and hid his face. What would he gain for not saying anything? Mayda had been so understanding over the last week, when she should have been petrified of him, like everyone else.

"...Bad… dreams." He said, finally.

"Bad dreams? Ahh.." She nodded. "I don't blame you. After everything you have had to go through…" Mayda rubbed his back gently. "Tell me about them."


	15. Nightmare

_White._

 _The whole world was white._

 _Walk down a street, full of buildings with no colour, while all around were people, running, screaming, begging to be spared._

 _Ignore them, and just keep walking, watch them turn to dust as you pass._

 _Guards will come, and threaten you with spears and swords… but even they will just fall apart before they can attack. No one is safe…_

 _Toriel… and Asgore…. will try and talk to you… appeal to you… ask you to relent... and they will vanish too. The only pause in your journey is to watch them turn to dust._

 _And then there will be silence. And silence… will turn black._

Gaster wasn't able to express the images his mind was creating as coherently as he would have liked. His vocabulary was still quite rudimentary, but, when he looked up at Mayda, the look on her face suggested that he'd given her the idea well enough.

"Mr. Gaster…" She whispered. "How awful…."

Gaster nodded. "I don't…. I couldn't…." He grasped the Heart Locket tightly. "I never…. want to use Magic…. again!"

"Oh… Mr. Gaster…. You mustn't let your Awakening frighten you…" She rubbed his back. "When I had mine, I tied my brother to the ceiling for four hours. I couldn't work out how to get him down until our parents got home!"

He hung his head. "You… didn't kill…. three people…. though…."

The maid restrained a hiss. "True. But…. I am sure that you will find the why. I don't know anything about your Magic."

He shook his head. "Never… never again…."

She watched him carefully for a long moment, then said, "Mr. Gaster…. most people's Awakenings… aren't random. They are triggered by something happening to them." She said. "Mine? My brother jumped out at me in a scary mask with a toy sword… frightened me so badly I thought my heart was going to jump out of my mouth." She thought about it. "I suppose I frightened him just as badly when he got trapped up so high as a result."

Gaster looked up at her sadly. He was not oblivious to where she was going with this and he didn't really want to answer it…

"What…. triggered yours?"

He looked away.

"Mr. Gaster…. please….. It could be important…." She put a hand on his arm.

He swallowed. "M….marcan…." He whispered. "...Was going to _kill me…_ "

Mayda was appalled. "E...even after Asgore told him to be kind to you?!"

"He…." Gaster was unable to fully restrain the sob that pushed against the back of his throat. "...Knew…. I was a threat….." He whimpered. "He…. wanted to….. protect…. everyone…."

Suddenly, the reptilian female found herself being clung to by the sobbing skeleton. [I didn't want to die!] He swapped back to his native language, unable to focus on his words. [I didn't want to kill him but I didn't want to die!]

Mayda could only hug him.

She was furious. She had never liked their upstart Royal Scientist in the first place. He was always ordering people around as though they were there to serve him, and if you ticked him off, he'd get their meathead Captain of the Guard to rough you up. And, he would constantly disrespect Asgore and Toriel.

And nothing angered Mayda more than people that did not do well by her King and Queen.

But, attempted murder?! To a guest of their royal Majesties? After being explicitly told to be nice? Ooooh, if Gaster hadn't killed him, he would have been in for one hell of a time, hung upside down by his spines in the belltower! No one would have found him for months bar the CROWS!

"Mr. Gaster…. it's alright…." She whispered after a while, after his sobs became quieter. "The loss of the guards is regrettable… and I wouldn't have wished that ingrate death…. You did nothing but defend yourself."

It was far too late to punish Marcan, but… Asgore would be hearing about this. Today.


	16. Sleep Walk

True to her word, Mayda told Asgore what she had learned as soon as she was out of Gaster's company. And, whereas she was covering the anger side of things, the King opted for a disappointed sadness.

"I see…" He slumped in his chair. "Of all the things it could have been….. I had hoped that it wasn't that."

"...Sire…. you know there were….. rumors about Marcan…" Mayda said.

"Yes…. yes I know…. sacrificing the poor off to further his experiments? I'd heard. I hadn't wanted to think so poorly of him. But I suppose…. I cannot think the best of everyone, in the end, can I."

Mayda gave him a sympathetic look. "What….. are you going to do?" She asked him.

"Well…. it is a bit late to punish Marcan… Mr. Gaster has already well done that." Asgore sighed. "I am just….. baffled…. as to why Marcan seemed to think Mr. Gaster was threat enough to defy my instructions….and yet… tell me nothing…."

"You've said yourself, that fear does horrid things to people, Asgore."

"I suppose so…." He pulled himself from his throne. "Perhaps I ought inspect where it was all happening." He motioned to his attendant waiting near the door. "Tell my appointments that I will need to delay by at least an hour." He said. "I must get to the bottom of this."

"Yes, Sire."

"Mayda, accompany me to the lab." Asgore said. "I will need a second eye."

"I am at your command, your Majesty."

All in all, there was a reason that Asgore hired a Royal Scientist. In short, Science baffled Asgore.

Entering the lab, it became clear to him that he had no idea what Marcan had been working on.

"What… is all this?" Asgore wondered, looking at all the equipment and notes everywhere.

"No idea… it seems to have something to do with souls and magic though…" Mayda offered, looking through some notes herself. "Oh dear…'Test subjects souls remain weak no matter what we subject them to. Current record is three seconds of physical contact during Engagement before subject soul perishes.'..." She read out loud.

Asgore was horrified. "Ph…. physical contact?!"

Mayda hissed. "Asgore…. look over there…. at the dust!"

Asgore felt his hands tremble as he looked across the room, seeing that it was covered in dust. And not just any sort of dust….

"So… the rumours were true after all…." He swallowed. "But why on earth… would he be testing this?"

Without understanding all of the science terminology around him, and the scientist himself gone dust, the chances of answering that seemed slim. And it filled Asgore's heart with remorse.

Just then, the door to the lab slid open.

The king and the maid turned, and were surprised to see… Gaster, standing there.

Asgore could see the deep bags under his eye sockets, he was indeed, a wreck. He was walking oddly, eyes barely open at all.

"...Mr. Gaster?" Asgore wondered.

Gaster did not respond. He just kept walking straight forward, until he walked right into Asgore's chest. And, pretty much stayed there, half slumped against him. Asgore just looked at him, puzzled.

Mayda watched the skeleton for a moment. "...I think…. he might be asleep!"

Asgore blinked. "Sleep walking?"

"Perhaps…. if his nightmares are as he told me…."

The king looked down at the smaller creature slumped against his chest, noting the rising and falling of his torso in steady, even breaths. It certainly looked like he could have been.

Asgore put his paws on Gaster's shoulders, and gently shook him. "Mr. Gaster? Mr. Gaster! Wake up!"

It took a few good shakes, but then, Gaster started, and looked up at Asgore. He blinked once, twice, then he jumped backwards with a gasp. [Wh…. what the!?]

Asgore sighed. "Are you alright, Mr. Gaster?" He asked.

[Uh… ah…] "... Yes?" He responded, before looking around. "Where…? ...Urk…!" He suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

Why was he in the lab?! "How did…. I get… here?"

"Mr. Gaster…. you were sleepwalking..." Mayda told him.

Gaster looked uncomfortable. He hadn't done that since he was a child!

Asgore smiled understandingly at him. "Mayda told me you've been having trouble sleeping." He said gently.

Gaster rubbed the back of his head. "Ah….."

"Nothing to be ashamed of." He said. "After all you went through… it is understandable." He smiled. "I just wish you'd told me sooner."

"I didn't…. want to…. " He paused, needing the word 'impose' but not knowing it. "Ah…. worry… you." Was what he went with.

"You don't know him very well, do you." Mayda asked, grinning.

Gaster blushed.

"It's alright. I can call a doctor to get you some sleeping medicine… so you can sleep without dreams."

Gaster smiled. "...Thank you."

Asgore nodded, and started to usher them out of the lab. But, before hitting the door, Gaster stopped and looked around. "Why did I….. come here?" He wondered out loud, heading towards one of the boards on the wall. Some of the words were familiar to him now, although it would take a lot of effort to translate all of this into Wing Dings. But, from what he could figure…

"...He was…. ah…" [Darn it…] "...doing something…. to souls, I think?"

Asgore blinked. "Do you… understand any of that, Mr. Gaster?"

"Some. Haven't learned all the words, yet…" Gaster admitted.

"Are you a scientist?" Mayda asked.

Gaster's "Yes." Was so sure of itself, but, then a moment later, he put a hand on the side of his head and frowned. "I….think so?"

"You think so?" Asgore wondered.

"I….. don't… remember." Gaster responded with a baffled, slightly frustrated look on his face.


	17. Indistinct

This was bothering him.

Now that he thought about it, nothing from his life before the underground was something he remembered clearly.

He was almost certain that he'd been a scientist. But… what sort? Biology? Robotics? Physics? More than one? Was he a doctor?

It was aggravating… and the more he thought about it, the less he was able to recall. He couldn't even remember his friends' names. Or his parents. Or faces, even.

At best, all he got was that weird feeling of being surrounded by humans being normal… of his voice being nowhere near the raspy wheeze he was stuck with now… of the sky… and the sun…

Unable to come to any better conclusions, the trio left the lab. Asgore had four dignitaries waiting for him to return, and Mayda needing to collect her children from school. Which left Gaster sitting in the study, an array of books around him… entirely unable to focus.

He slumped over his notebook with a groan.

Toriel was sitting nearby, and she looked up from her baby names book at the noise. "...Everything alright?" She asked.

"No." Was his answer. "I can't…. get my mind off earlier." He told her.

"The sleep walking?" She wondered. "Had I known you were asleep, I would have stopped you from leaving the study…"

Gaster shook his head. "Not that. I know about…. science. The things in the Lab…. I recognized it. But I can't…. remember how." He told her. "Or why."

"Hm…" She tapped her chin. "What do you remember?" Was the question. "We could go back as far as you remember, and maybe work it out from there?" She suggested.

"...Maybe. Nothing from before is…. ah...what's the word…" He wrote the word 'distinct' in WingDings on his notebook, and carefully translated it, before making an attempt at saying it. "Dis….tingkt?"

"Distinct."

"Distinct." He corrected himself. "Nothing is…. distinct."

Toriel frowned. "Nothing?"

"Nothing before I woke up in that…. that dark place." He looked out the window in the general direction of Snowdin. "Not even…. how I got there."

"...I had heard you were found in the forest?" Toriel said, confused.

"I was." Gaster nodded at her. "But that was after. I woke up in this…. tunnel?" He scrawled and translated a few words quickly. "It was full of con-trap-shns… spikes, and pits, and… logic puzzles…" He scratched at his head. "With an empty house at the end."

Toriel's eyes widened a little. "That…. that sounds an awful lot like the- HNNK!" She cut off abruptly as a spike of pain shot through her.

Gaster looked over at her, not much liking the noise that she'd just made. "...Toriel…?"

"I….. think I…..!" she grasped at her belly.

Gaster's mind raced. "Ah. AH! The… baby!?"

Toriel nodded, and slid down on the couch, so she was laying down. Gaster sprang to his feet for the door, and pulled it open so quick that he startled the guard standing beside it.

"H...hey!" He squeaked.

Gaster didn't even apologise. "The Queen is… in labour!" He told them. "We need… a doctor or something!"

Obviously not believing him, the guard peered into the study, spotting the queen laying on the couch in clear discomfort. "...!" he looked at Gaster, wide eyed. "I'll… I'll get the King!"

And with that, the guard was off at a sprint.

At a loss as to what else he could do, Gaster returned to the study, and made himself useful by making Toriel comfortable.

"D-don't worry…" He stuttered. "It'll…. all be fine…!"

Toriel managed a smile for him. "I'm… sure it will…"


	18. Little Prince

The next four hours was one of the most bizarre experiences that Gaster could recall. Asgore came, fretting adorably. A pair of nurses came, one who only seemed to get around to making sure Asgore didn't do anything daft, and the other, a nervous first or second time midwife, who was actually assisting Toriel.

At some point, Gaster had taken charge in the study, and it wasn't until the little fuzzy white baby had started to crown that it occurred to him that he actually knew what he was doing.

It stalled him a few times; the more the thought about it, the more his mind froze up, and he would stand there blankly, trying to process what was going on. But then a question from the midwife, or a squeak from Toriel snapped him back into the present, and he'd continue on doing what needed to be done.

And, four hours was a short birth, in the scheme of things, Gaster thought. But, for her first child, it seemed to go quite well. So far as he knew.

And at the end of it, Gaster had in his arms a tiny fluffy baby, who was screaming like a trooper while the skeleton wiped his face with a towel.

He smiled at Toriel and stepped around to hand the child to her. "A...boy, I think?" He said, as she curled her arms around the baby and clung to them.

"You 'think'?" Asgore asked, still fretting a little.

"Have only seen human babies before." Gaster said, before pulling that same, baffled face again. "...I think…"

"Human…?" Asgore shook his head. "You are a mystery, Mr. Gaster."

Gaster nodded tiredly. "To myself, too."

Toriel let out a little squeal of joy. "No… Mr. Gaster, you're quite right…! A beautiful baby boy…!" She kissed her son's nose and rocked him, trying to settle him. "Shhh… shhh… I've got you… my child…."

Gaster grinned. "What are you going to name the…Prince?" He asked, hesitating only briefly to think of the correct word.

"Hmm…." Asgore thought. "Uh….. Asgore the second?"

"Goodness no." Toriel huffed.

Gaster chuckled.

"At least try a little harder than that." Toriel asked him.

"I'm not very good at this, Tori…." Asgore reminded her, rubbing the back of his head. "As… Asriel?" He suggested, timidly.

"...That's not bad…." Toriel admitted.

"I think that's an Angel name." Gaster said, although he wasn't sure how he knew that.

"Asriel…. my little angel…." Toriel said, hugging the baby. "Sounds great."

Asgore grinned. How lucky, that the hurried combination of his own name and his wife's name turned out to be something like that!

"Asriel…. Dreemurr." He knelt beside his wife and son, and wrapped his large arms around both of them. "Welcome to the family."

Gaster smiled, and turned away from them, to start cleaning up. The midwives came over to him and smiled appreciatively.

"Thank you for your assistance, Doctor!" They said. "We would not have managed without you!"

Gaster blushed deeply.  
"Oh… I…. I am not a…. I'm not a doctor…. I was just here…."

They were surprised. "Really?!" The younger one squeaked. "But… but you seemed as though you had done that a hundred times before!"

The older one nodded. "Are you _sure_ you're not a doctor?"

"No." Gaster admitted. "But… I am glad I was able to help, at any rate."

The two looked baffled.

He smiled tiredly. He wasn't sure of anything, so how on earth was he meant to convince these two? "Would you help me tidy up?" He asked.

They looked at one another, but then nodded. "Of course."


	19. Teapot

The celebrations that followed the announcement of the new Prince lasted for more than three days in some parts of the Underground. The King held a grand feast in the castle, and had Gaster and the two midwives that assisted to sit at the high table with him and Toriel.

Gaster was certain he had never been in a more awkward situation in his entire life.

Everyone was LOOKING at him! But, the food was good, and it was nice to see Toriel and Asgore so happy. And certainly more than a little satisfying to see Asgore be able to take some time away from all of the people coming to see him all the time. A new baby was an excellent excuse.

It did mean that Gaster had to entertain himself, of course. And, after they had given the study a good scrubbing down, he didn't _really_ mind. He would spend almost every waking hour with his nose in a book, needing to use his alphabet translator chart less and less all the time.

The study was full of books about all sorts of topics.

Toriel had started him on the fiction section, to get him used to their grammatical rules, but as he read more and more, all Gaster found was, the only difference between his language and theirs, was the letter forms were different, and the words were pronounced differently. You used them both the exact same way.

The more he thought about it, the more he studied, the more Gaster started to become of the opinion that when he died, language just got muddled up inside his head. After all, he couldn't think of a single other example of two languages that were identical except for those two features.

Ugh. That was another thing. His _death._ He couldn't NOT think of it as his death. His 'flavour text' had been quite clear that he was something else in a past life. And these… half memories… were really starting to get on his nerves!

He didn't really want to bring it up with Asgore, but, he was almost certain he used to be human. He was a human skeleton, after all. And Monsters… didn't leave skeletal remains, as he'd seen.

But, if that was the case… why did he remember anything at all? Memories were kept in the brain, and he was almost certain he didn't have anything inside his skull anymore, so, he shouldn't have been able to remember anything from that life.

Well, if you excused the fact that he was a reanimated, magical skeleton, which also, by popular opinion, shouldn't have been.

Nggh, maybe if he swapped to the science text books it'd take his mind off it. Biology seemed like a good start!

It only took a few days for Gaster to start to come to some conclusions.

"Mr. Gaster?"

Almost a week after Asriel had been born, Asgore appeared at the study door, startling Gaster out of his book.

"Ah… Asgore!"

The king smiled at him. "Sorry we have not been able to keep you company very much."

Gaster shook his head. "You have a baby, it's fine."

Asgore nodded. "Would you... come with me?"

The skeleton blinked. "...Sure." He put his book down, and trotted over to the door. "What's happening?"

"Nothing, at present but…. there is something we have to talk about."

Oh boy did he not like the sound of that.

Asgore led Gaster through the castle, down past the Royal Guard barracks, to a training area. Gaster liked this less and less the further in they went.

But, he trusted Asgore, so he followed him until they stopped in the middle of a large room with a dirt floor.

"...Asgore?" Gaster ventured.

"Mr. Gaster…." Asgore looked at him with a smile. "I know you don't want this but…." He motioned to the locket still hanging around Gaster's neck. "Now that Asriel has been born….. he will need the Heart Locket one day soon."

Gaster wrapped his hand around it. "B...but…. c..can't you make another one?"

"Magic Blockers are not simple to create." Asgore told him. "If I were to make another, it might not be ready by the time that he needs it." He smiled sadly. "I know you don't want to, but, I did say that I was going to teach you how to control your magic."

Gaster shook his head frantically. "No. No no…. no, Asgore! I… I can't! I…." His hands trembled. "I don't want to use magic. I don't….. I don't want to hurt anyone else… least of all you!"

"You won't!" Asgore responded, trying to be encouraging. "I trust you!"

"But _I_ don't trust me!" Gaster squeaked. "You saw what I DID!"

Asgore nodded. "I did. But, I believe that you can control that power. You were frightened and stressed then, and acting in self defense." He put a paw on Gaster's shoulder. "Time magic is not something to be taken lightly. I was not planning on getting you to use your magic on me to practice!"

"But…. but what if…."

"Gaster, my friend…." Asgore said gently, startling the skeleton a little by dropping the honourific. "...Are you afraid of me?"

Gaster frowned, but shook his head. "No."

"Then your power will not rise to defend you from me. Of this, I am sure." Asgore told him. "Take off the locket, and I'll prove it to you."

Gaster clutched it fearfully. "But...what if you're wrong?"

"Then…" He said honestly. "Then, I expect you to help raise Asriel." He said. "We've talked about this already… she knows we are down here. I might be wrong. But, I'm sure I am not."

"I don't know…."

"I believe in you, Gaster."

Ah, damn it, why did he have to go and say that? Gaster sighed, but then, with his eyes slammed shut so he didn't have to watch, he pulled the locket off and slammed it into Asgore's palm.

He waited a moment, then another. And then, Asgore said, "You can open your eyes, Gaster. We're alright."

Gaster could only bring himself to peek at first. But, when he spotted Asgore, still very much covered in yellow and purple, he allowed himself to relax a bit, and opened his eyes all the way.

Asgore smiled at him. "Magic doesn't work the way you think it does." He said. "It's not like a river that can only stopped by a purpose made dam.." He held up the locket to emphasise his analogy, before putting it away.

"...Then, what is it like?" Gaster wondered, honestly surprised his eyes and hands weren't glowing at the removal of the locket.

"It's like…" Asgore tapped his chin, but then grinned as he came up with an answer. "It's like a teapot!"

Gaster tilted his head to one side. "A teapot?"

The Boss Monster nodded, totally proud of himself. "Yes! It's like, when you are first making tea in your first teapot, and you pick it up to pour…" He mimed picking up the teapot, and trying to pour it into an imaginary tea cup. "...But you don't realise you need to hold the lid on while you do so, and you spill hot tea everywhere and it's a big mess!" He continued to mime as he spoke, spilling the 'tea' and throwing his arms up as if panicked and burned with hot tea. "But THEN!" He declared, totally getting into his analogy. "The NEXT time you pour tea! You know better! You know how to hold the lid on, and pour the tea carefully." He carefully poured his 'tea' and picked up his tea cup with his pinky extended. "And, sometimes you might still burn your tongue if the tea is too hot, but, you soon learn about that too! It's all about learning!"

Asgore took this moment to look at Gaster, with the intent of asking if he had just made sense, but, was stalled by the expression on the shorter creature's face. It wasn't a confused look, it was something else, that he couldn't quite place.

A heartbeat later, Gaster was roaring with laughter, doubled over, clutching at his sides.

Asgore blushed. "Oh come on… it wasn't… wasn't that bad…" Although, he'd not heard Gaster really laugh before. It was nice. It meant…. he was finally starting to feel at home.


	20. First Practice

Gaster was beside himself with laughter. Really, he could see how people just _liked_ Asgore. He was so darned genuine! And, before too long, Asgore was laughing right along with him.

"Y...y...you!" Gaster wheezed. "I can't… believe you!"

Asgore chuckled. "Why not?"

"Only you would….. think of tea…. when you're… Ah ha..!" The skeleton gasped and tried to get himself under control.

Asgore smiled. "But, after all that, we're still fine, right?"

Gaster's expression became a little less entertained. "I suppose so."

"But…. I meant it." Asgore told him. "It really is just like that." He pouted. "I thought it was a fantastic analogy."

Gaster smiled sadly. "Maybe." He said. "Maybe my teapot was just too heavy for me to carry."

"Practice will lighten it." Asgore told him. "Perhaps you would feel better if I showed you some magic, first."

Gaster didn't look overly enthusiastic, but nodded anyway. "...worth a try." He said, realising that Asgore could be about as stubborn as he could ridiculous.

That answer got a smile, from the king, and he stood beside Gaster, facing down the training range. "Magic can be very simple to use." He explained. "We use the word 'spell' to describe a magical action, but it's not like the spells humans use, where they have to use magic words, or whatever. It's more…. innate, in us."

Asgore didn't notice the expression that crossed Gaster's face at that.

"You simply think of what you want to do, and you can get your magic to do it. Within your scope, that is." He said. "So, say for example… if I wanted a small fire at my fingertip…" He extended a finger, and a small candle flame burst to life above his claw. "See?" He said. "But, I couldn't use it to tie a knot, or anything like that." The flame vanished.

Gaster frowned. "What…. would my magic be at all good for?"

Asgore shrugged lightly. "Well, it is _time_ magic. From what I saw you do before…. you kept the guards away from you… presumably by stopping time for their bodies, which froze them in place."

A guilty expression overtook Gaster's face.

"Hey… come on."

"...I'm sorry."

Asgore shook his head. "Guilt, is one of those things that never truly leaves us." He said. "But, we can move on from it." He sighed. "You're not the only one… who has taken a life, before."

Gaster stopped, and stared at Asgore with wide eyes. "...You…?"

"It is just the way of things." He said sadly. "Boss Monsters are… unique. We age, by taking the years from our parents. It's…. something that cannot be stopped, cannot be interrupted, cannot be helped. But… I still hate that by simply being alive, I caused my parents' deaths… and that one day, Asriel will cause mine." He sighed. "But… It is something we have to live with. Toriel and I, both."

Asgore could have mentioned much more than that, but…. he chose not to. Although the war was probably a better analog for what Gaster had endured… Asgore wasn't convinced that the shorter creature was aware such a thing had even happened. And he hadn't told him this to get him distracted by Asgore's burdens. But just to let him know that he wasn't alone.

Asgore was quiet for a moment, then shook his head. "So… anyway…." He smiled, although it didn't quite reach his eyes. "You should try and see what you can do."

Gaster frowned. "You said you weren't going to make me try and use my magic on you."

"I wasn't thinking of that." He said. "I was thinking I should throw something, and you try and stop it, or, at least slow it down."

Gaster blinked. "Throw? Like, a ball?" He looked the king up and down. "What on earth do you keep in your pockets?"

Asgore laughed. "No, I don't have a ball on me, although that would have been good." He said. "But I think we can just make do with these…" He grinned, and a dozen little red fireballs flickered to life in an arch over Asgore's head.

Gaster blinked.

"So, let's see…" Asgore made a sweeping motion towards the far wall, and one of the little fireballs shot off, reasonably slowly, hitting the stone wall about three seconds later. "Three seconds. There is our bench mark." He brought another one around. "Try and use your magic on this one!"

"...Okay…"

Agore shot it off, and Gaster made his best attempt. But, as before, the fireball hit the wall, the only affect being Gaster feeling like a complete twit.

"Well… that didn't work." He grumbled.

"You really gotta try and push your magic to the surface and tell it confidently what to do!" Asgore said. "Let's try again!"

The next four attempts were the same as the first.

"This is not working." Gaster sighed.

Asgore pat his back. "You'll get it. Let's leave it for now, and and try again tomorrow."


	21. Rewind

It took weeks, and a lot of calming tea before Gaster was able to do anything with his magic. Asgore was silently relieved when he finally managed to affect his projectiles… mostly because he didn't want to find out what would happen if the skeleton got beyond the point of frustrated.

It was still bothering him, though, how much effort it was taking for Gaster to actually access his magic. The stages of his magic were very much like the normal stage for a small child, but, it was more his _brain_ holding him back than anything else. He had it, somehow, in his head that magic was bad. That he shouldn't have been able to do magic. And, as a result, he was finding it hard to do magic.

And it was quite obvious that he was only practicing with him, because he'd asked him to practice. Asgore knew full well that Gaster would much rather be back in the study, reading. He was pretty well fluent now, only needing to use his translator chart for some of the more...genre specific words in the science textbooks.

And Gaster had read almost all of those now, too.

"I...I think I've got the hang of this now, Asgore!" Gaster exclaimed, breaking the king out of his thoughts.

Asgore looked over, and saw the small fireballs he had fired, some moving very slowly indeed, and others, stopped completely.

One thing that hadn't changed with Gaster's increasing control, was anything that was moving under modified time, lost it's colour, and was completely white.

That wasn't horridly unusual. Other objects affected by magic often glowed with the colour of the magic it was being manipulated by, but to have the colour change entirely? That was different.

Then again, Time Magic, was different.

"Well done, Gaster! I knew you'd get it!" Asgore beamed at him, very pleased.

Gaster smiled bashfully, and let the fireballs resume their normal progress through time, hitting the far wall. He rubbed the back of his head. "You have a lot more faith in me than I do…"

"You are a very intelligent, very talented creature, Gaster." Asgore told him. "Why you keep downplaying yourself I will never know."

Gaster blushed. "I'm not as good as all that…"

"You did it again!" Asgore exclaimed. "Give yourself a little credit. There aren't many that could have done what you have done. What you can do."

Gaster frowned at that. "Asgore…. I had… wanted to ask, actually."

The king blinked. "..Oh?"

"What…. DID I do?"

"Oh, you mean…" Asgore nodded, and sat down. "Well… this is only a guess on my part." He said. "But, what I think happened, is… you kept the people attacking you away from you by stopping time for their bodies… like with the fireballs in here."

"... That wouldn't have killed them though… surely."

"Well, no." He agreed. "What I think you did… because Engagement didn't take notice… I think you simply…. increased time for their souls."

Gaster blinked. "Huh?"

"Think about it. Engagement comes into effect when you fight someone. But, they didn't pay the slightest attention to what you were doing. So, it wasn't an attack that defeated them."

Gaster frowned. "...I….I suppose." He said, thinking of how Marcan's soul had turned white before being destroyed.

"Does that make sense?" Asgore asked.

"...I… aged them to death?"

"This is the best answer I can come up with." He was thoughtful. "Makes me wonder if it would have any effect on me, before Asriel was born…"

Gaster frowned. If he fast forwarded time on their souls fast enough that they died of old age… wouldn't that mean he could….. maybe…

"Asgore, can I have another fireball? I want to try something."

The king blinked, but nodded. "Certainly, he said, summoning one and sending it shooting towards the wall.

Gaster stuck his hand out towards it, and froze it, watching as it turned white.

He got a determined look on his face. If he could do this then maybe he could….

Asgore watched as Gaster pushed his magic to do… something.

The result was probably not what either of them were expecting.

Gaster stumbled back as though he'd just been punched in the stomach, and spluttered, choking on something. Asgore scrambled to his feet in alarm as Gaster fell backwards, clinging to his midsection, a thick black ooze trickling out of his left eye socket, as well as being violently coughed up out of his mouth.

"G..Gaster!" Asgore yelped, running over.

Gaster could only whimper as Asgore tried to pull him into his arms. His hold over the fireball was released, and it slammed into the wall. And it wasn't until after that, that whatever it was Gaster was coughing up seemed to subside.

"What… what on earth…" Asgore whispered, picking his friend up.

"That…." Gaster coughed weakly. "...Didn't…. go according to plan…"

"What did…. you do?"

"I was….. trying to…. make it go… backwards." Gaster said. "I guess… not."

Asgore felt himself shudder. "No, it seems not." He said. "But… time should only ever go forwards… Why were you trying to do that?"

"I thought…. if I had….. made them vanish…. by making time go one way…." Gaster's eyes drooped as Asgore carried him back through the castle. "I could…. fix what I did…. by making it go…. the other way."

And, with that comment, Gaster fell asleep in Asgore's arms, covered in this slick black goop.

Asgore sighed. "Oh Gaster…."

The King carried Gaster to his room, and gently placed him on his bed. He was a little worried about this black stuff, but… he wasn't sure what to make of it. But, Gaster didn't seem to be coughing up any more of it, at least, and was sleeping peacefully.

Hopefully what he had just attempted to do wouldn't have any ill effects...


	22. Idea

When Gaster woke up, it was early the next morning.

His head hurt, and he still felt like he'd half drowned. Which, never mind that he did not have literal lungs, was not a great feeling. He sat up and looked himself over. That strange black goop was still all over his front, having soaked into his sweater.

[Pleasant.] He said to himself, getting up and heading for the shower.

He spent probably 20 minutes longer than he should have under the water, but, when you were covered in some sort of pitch black regurgitated molasses, he figured a little longer wouldn't hurt.

But it wasn't until he got out of the shower and had dried his face with a towel that he caught sight of himself in the mirror.

Running from his left eye socket to his jaw was a thick, black line. [What… is this?] He whispered, reaching up and running his fingers over it.

It didn't feel any different than the bone around it. It was just…. pitch black bone. Rather striking against the white of the rest of his skull.

He pulled a face. However was he going to explain that to the others?

Well, he supposed, he _had_ been attempting something that he probably shouldn't have. Bah, it had been worth a shot! And the rest of him was okay, so far as he could tell.

With a sigh, he ran the towel over the rest of his body and got dressed, choosing a pair of grey slacks and a white business shirt. Even with the events of yesterday, there was no reason to not go through with today, right?

A small breakfast later, Gaster left his room and headed for the study.

He didn't even get halfway, however, when he stopped, and looked down a different hallway.

He wasn't sure why he decided to, but, instead of the study, today, he headed to the Lab.

It was just as depressing as he remembered it. Marcan's remains had been removed, but the dust that had been all over the place beforehand was still where they left it. Gaster could see where he had been sitting in the dust on the berth in the corner. He frowned. Was that the dust of disuse? Or the dust of…

No. No he was not going to think about having perhaps sat in someone's remains. He was not going to think about that at all.

Looking around with something of a calmer mind, Gaster thought that Marcan might have been, at least, before he got distracted by Gaster's weirdness, experimenting with power supplies. Now that he thought about it, there was very little electricity in the underground. There were small, hand held items like torches and the like, but nothing large scale. No refrigeration or television or even modern lighting. Cooking seemed to be done primarily by fire (Which is why Gaster ate bread and fruit almost exclusively).

It was practically medieval.

From what he was seeing though, he had been working off watermill and windmill principles, setting something up in Waterfall to generate… "Elec...try...set….eye…." Gaster had to frown at that. Electricity was not that complex a concept, and yet….

Marcan didn't seem to have really grasped what it was.

Weird.

He picked up one of Marcan's old clipboards, and started writing, looking at the whiteboards for information every now and then. Marcan's major project was desperately trying to construct kinetic energy production technology, which wasn't a bad thing, it was just inefficient and prone to error if you didn't know what you were doing.

Geothermal would work so much better, and it wasn't like Hotland wasn't a whopping volcanic core...

Gaster blinked, and looked down at the clipboard in his hand. He'd half done up calculations for converting Geothermal energy to useable electricity.

Damn it, he really DID know what he was doing, didn't he!

Hm… maybe Asgore would be interested.


	23. Difference

He was expecting a, "Oh, that's interesting, thanks!" or a, "Hm, we should get the other science staff to look at it!"

In retrospect, he had known Asgore for long enough now that he should have known better. The king couldn't have looked more delighted when he showed his calculations to Asgore, saying that he thought using the heat energy of Hotland's plentiful lava supply would be a very efficient and safe way to provide power to the underground. He was so excited that he didn't even notice the mark on Gaster's cheek. Which meant he didn't have to try and explain anything just yet, so, that was alright.

But, Asgore's enthusiasm is why he was standing here now, in front of the eight other scientists that worked under Marcan, with a white coat over his clothes, while the king introduced him to them.

"Now, the position of Royal Scientist is open…" Asgore said, tone shifting a little. "And, I would like for you all to apply. You are all very capable scientists, and I know that you will come up with something magnificent!"

And with that, he gave Gaster a friendly push towards the other scientists, and then fled.

Gaster pulled a face. Damn it, Asgore, this is the worst.

"So… Gaster, was it?" One of them asked. "I feel like I have seen you before."

Gaster looked at him. Ahhhhh, he knew why. "You may have." He said. "I have been living here for some time now… I am a friend of their Majesties." This was the young man that had set the Guards on him. This… could get awkward.

"Their Majesties are friends with everyone." He huffed. "But, welcome to the team anyway. I'll introduce you to everyone."

After a few minutes of learning everyone's names, and being shown around the main lab areas, Lloyd, the very slender cat like creature that had been showing him around, pointed to a red door. "That's the door that leads to the Royal Scientist lab." He said. "Marcan hated us going in there unless he needed us, so, it's rigged to only open from the other side. But, you can still get into his lab from his external door on the other side of the wing."

Gaster swallowed. Lloyd recognised him, surely. "I suppose, that may change, depending on who Asgore selects to replace him? You all seem to get on very well."

"Perhaps. It depends what is being worked on in there, I guess." Lloyd answered. "It's a blast door as well, so if the experiment is likely to blow up, it protects us."

"...Did that happen often?"

"Sometimes, yeah." Lloyd admitted. "Trying to get the generators running is… delicate work."

"Well, that's why Asgore brought me on." Gaster said. "To help with that."

"Oh?" Lloyd wondered. "You know something about this Electryset...stuff from the surface?"

"Electricity." The skeleton corrected. "And yes. I've got…. some ideas that may be useful."

Lloyd blinked. "Well, we've been working on this for a while, so, anything that can get the team's spirits up will be good."

Gaster smiled. "I hope I can do at least that."

Lloyd had got the team together so that Gaster could explain his idea, and, when he saw how each and every one of them seemed to brighten with new found hope the longer he talked, he realised just how low spirits had been around here.

Any little bit of new information was like a lifeline to these people.

"Gaster, this is amazing stuff… I can't believe we never thought of it before!" Lloyd remarked, everyone else nodding in agreement.

"You think it'd work?"

"Oh, for sure!" Responded a short, orange coloured monster with big eyes. Markham, if Gaster remembered right. "Marcan was hooked on the idea of using the waterfalls, as though it were the only thing we had. But, using the magma? BRILLIANT!"

Gaster rubbed the back of his head. "Goodness… I didn't think…. you'd all be that keen on it."

"We should do more calculations!" Lloyd said, the enthusiasm of the others getting through to him too. "And build a prototype! This might actually work!"

The team cheered, making Gaster blush. He'd never thought…. he could make such a difference!


	24. Adventure

The Geothermal Generator was a larger success than Gaster had anticipated. The entire team got on board, and they had a working prototype in a matter of weeks. And so, they began construction on the full sized device.

Of course, something of that nature, of that size, was not going to be a quick process. Gaster found himself getting caught up in it, the enthusiasm of the King, and the rest of the scientists, getting to him, as well.

And before he knew it, years had passed. At some stage, they all started calling him 'Doctor' Gaster, and he grew tired of correcting them fairly quickly. He decided to think of it as a nickname of sorts, instead of a title. He didn't feel he deserved such an honour.

Among overseeing and assisting with the project, Gaster still had study sessions with Toriel, and he still trained his magic with Asgore. Although lately, he was joined by their fast growing Prince.

Asriel was a sweet boy, although, surprisingly unremarkable. He drew pictures of fantastic characters, he sung the alphabet, he spoke with a voice that sounded like his nose was blocked all the time, he was a normal child, so far as Gaster remembered.

"Dr. Gaster, what's the mark on your cheek?" The boy asked one day, while they were sitting in the study together, Gaster reading a thick textbook, and Asriel looking at a book full of pictures of cats.

Gaster looked up. "Wh..? Huh?"

The Prince reached up and touched his small fingers to the thick black line that ran down Gaster's face. "This!"

Gaster pulled a face. "Well… it's…." He slumped his shoulders a little. "I suppose you could call it.. a scar."

"A scar?" Asriel asked.

"Hmm… yes. I think that's the… best word for it." He ran his fingers over the black line. He didn't like remembering the sensation of when he pushed his magic too far. It had been a horrid feeling.

But the Prince, like any boy his age, wasn't going to let the potential for a cool story go.

With eyes alight with stars, he asked, "How'd you get it?!" He gasped. "Were you fighting? Defending your family? Hunting in the woods?!"

Gaster put his hands up. "No! No, nothing exciting at all!"

Asriel pouted. "Tell me how!"

The skeleton sighed. "Goodness, willful Prince…"

"Pweeeeeease?"

Gaster was defeated. Tiny children were masters of some strange sort of mind control, and Gaster wasn't sure if it was wise to look into how. But, he was practically helpless against it.

"I'm sure you'll be quite bored with it." He predicted. "But…. when you were but a babe, your father was helping me learn to use my magic."

Asriel interrupted with a horrified gasp. "Did… Did DADDY do that!?"

"Goodness no!" Gaster insisted. "No… he was helping me practice.. and I…." He frowned. "I tried to push my magic to do something it wasn't meant for."

His slender fingers traced the line once more. "And the mark…. is a result of that."

"...Oooooh…"

Gaster smiled at the Prince. The boy did this often; ask him some question or another, and once the answer came forth, Asriel would return to whatever it was he had been doing, forgetting he'd ever stopped.

But, Asriel continued to stare at him.

"...What is it?" Gaster asked after a few moments, suddenly feeling uncomfortable under this small child's scrutiny.

"You live in the castle, don't you?"

The scientist sighed. "Yes, I do. You know that."

"You're not a noble. Why do you live in the castle?" Was his next question.

Gaster blinked. "Because…. your parents found me a home here."

Asriel tilted his head to one side. "Why?"

Ah. We had ventured into the era of relentless 'why' questions. Even worse, he knew that trying to deflect any of the questions would result in more!

"Because I didn't have any other home to go to."

The Prince gasped. "You didn't? You were homeless?!"

"Yes.. I suppose I was."

Another gasp. "How?! Why?!"

Gaster rubbed his arm uncomfortably. "I… don't really know the answer to that."

That made Asriel stop. "You don't know why you had no home?"

"Not exactly." Gaster said.

"Why not?" Asriel demanded. "Everyone should have a home!"  
"Yes, well…. I was lucky…. your Father came along and found me one."

"...Where…. where were you before that?" The Prince asked.

"Before that?" Gaster blinked at him. "...Snowdin Hospital."

"And… before that?"

He frowned. "...a forest."

"Before that?"

"Uh…" Gaster looked down at the tabletop thoughtfully. "Dark hallways. Full of traps, and dust."

Asriel's eyes went wide. "And…." He almost seemed afraid to ask. "...before that?"

"...I don't know." He admitted. "On the surface, I think. But…. I don't remember."

Gaster was worried Asriel's eyes were going to pop out of his little head they were so big. "You must be super old!"

He spluttered. "What? What makes you say that?"

"If you were on the surface! We've been down here for aaaaages!"

"Well yes, but I'm not as old as all that!"

The Prince frowned as that. "How could you have been on the surface if you're not old?"

"I don't know! I said I don't know!" Gaster winced at his own words. He'd raised his voice… and he hated it. He hated the way that Asriel flinched when he shouted, too. He should apologize.

"...I'm sorry." Asriel beat him to it. "I didn't mean to upset you…"

Gaster blinked, thrown off. "Oh, little Prince you didn't… I… I shouldn't have shouted…." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I just don't like…. not knowing the answer to those questions."

There was a moment of silence, and then Asriel suggested, "Why don't we go find those answers?"

Gaster stared at him. "...what?"

"We can go look for them!" The Prince declared. "Maybe if you go back as far as you can, you'll find something! Maybe… maybe you had those answers, but, you just lost them!"

"Go back? To that place? I don't have any fond memories of it, if I am utterly honest."

"I can go with you!"

Gaster stared at him. "Are you mad? There is no way! Your parents would never allow it!"

"Then we can sneak out." He said conspiratorially. "Sneak onto a boat. Rivi has a small boat that'd fit the three of us, and he needs the practice on his own. He'll take us. I'll sneak him a muffin, and he'll take us all the way to the Snowdin docks! Then you just have to walk through the woods!"

"Prince Asriel it is really a poor idea… Especially without your parents permission…. What if something were to happen to you?" He said. "You are to be King one day. You need to stay safe."

"But, a King helps his people, doesn't he?" Asriel asked. "And… this will help, won't it?"

Oof. Gaster felt his resolve cracking. It didn't help that he greatly wanted to know the answers to Asriel's questions himself, and the Prince was giving him that look, aaagh…

"...We'll get into trouble if we are caught."

"Then we won't get caught."

"...Darn it child… you are too convincing for your own good." He stood up. "Alright."

"YEAH!"

Asriel took Gaster by the hand, and led him out of the study, and through the halls before the skeleton was able to change his mind. The Prince was very familiar with the New Home palace, and so he was able to lead the scientist through so that they saw none of the guard patrols. It made Gaster very suspicious.

"You haven't…. snuck out of the palace before, by chance, have you?" Gaster whispered.

"...No." Asriel responded after a moment.

They arrived in the gardens, and Asriel took Gaster to a patch of wall covered in vines.

"...Surely you aren't going to suggest that we climb the vines?" He huffed.

"No, no! Here, look!" He pulled the vines away behind one of the bushes, and revealed a hole, big enough for Asriel to walk through, and enough for Gaster to slide through.

"...haven't snuck out before, huh?" If they got away with this, Gaster had half a mind to tell his parents about the little escape hole.

"Shh!" Asriel whispered. "Come on…" And with that, the Prince slid through the garden wall.

Filled with dread, Gaster followed him. And, nearly fell straight into a river.

"Yikes!"

"Careful, Dr. Gaster!" Asriel squeaked. "The water is cold!"

Gaster clung to the little wooden platform that had been built around the base of the garden wall. "Do you really get out this way?!" He hissed.

"I built the platform after I fell in when I first got through the wall." Asriel admitted, feeling as though, now that the scientist was going on an adventure with him, even if his best friends were his parents, he was an ally! "It makes things easier."

"How often do you do this!?"

"Every week or so." The Prince said casually. "I like to play with Rivi and the other boys at the bend in the canal. There is a muddy bit near the edge, full of echo flowers where we like to play."

"Isn't Rivi a lot older than you are?" Gaster asked.

"They age slower, and I age faster." Asriel said with a shrug. "It… sort of evens out."

"Hrmmpf."

"Come on!" Asriel then headed down the little wooden steps he had built, to a platform near the bottom. He reached under one of the steps, and pulled out a large bell, and rang it.

It echoed off the cavern walls.

"Ah… so that's what the bell was." Gaster said with a frown.

"It lets Rivi know I'm here, and he comes from the canal to find me!"

"I didn't think this was the canal…"

"It's part of the river that was diverted to make the canal." He explained. "We found it when I dug through the wall."

"Why were you digging through the wall?!"

"So I could go play!" Asriel said. "The Guard Captain doesn't let anyone into the palace unless they are here to see Mama or Daddy. And even then he doesn't like to do it at all."

Gaster frowned, conflicted to hear that. On the one hand, it was nice to know that the Captain of the Royal Guard hadn't changed over the years, but on the other hand, it was less good that he was not focusing all of his rage at him, but rather, making _everyone_ miserable.

"Ah, here's Rivi!" The Prince waved at the hooded creature as he slid around the corner on the water.

"Hey, Asriel, how are…!" Rivi stared at Gaster from under his hood. "A….ah….!"

"Rivi… I need you to take me and Dr. Gaster to Snowdin! Can you do that?"

"T… To Snowdin? I'll cop it if Mama catches me with you on board!"

"Please, Rivi?" Asriel asked. "It's important."

The young boat driver was unconvinced. He leant in to whisper to the Prince. "Why is that guy here? He scares me…"

"He needs our help, Rivi." Asriel whispered. "Come on, you're my driver, aren't you?"

"Not till you have a crown on your head I'm not!"

"...Children, I can hear you." Gaster said, making Rivi jump in surprise.

"Y….You can talk now?"

"Yes." Gaster responded. "It's been years since I saw you, Rivi. You've grown bigger, I think."

"Uh.. Ah… thanks…?"

"Come on Rivi, please?" Asriel asked again. "I'll sneak you desserts out of the kitchens when we get back."

Rivi thought about it. "If we get caught, you owe me an extra dessert for every day I'm punished for it."

"Deal!"

"...Get on."

Gaster looked at Rivi's boat. It certainly wasn't as grand as their mother's boat, but, it was solid and made of sturdy timber. So, trying not to rock the boat as much as he could, the skeleton stepped on and sat down on the small deck.

Asriel wasn't far behind.

"Okay, hold on, we're pushing off. We'll be in Snowdin in no time."


	25. Ruins Door

Gaster felt as though he were being let in on a great secret, with the way Rivi kept looking at him as they traversed the Hidden River. It was only small, and after a short while, they passed through a hole in the wall, not really big enough for a boat any larger than this one to pass through, and into the canal.

"That's… quite a secret." Gaster remarked, looking back at the hole in the wall.

"We tried to come up with some way of hiding the door…" Asriel admitted. "But everything we thought of seemed to obvious."

"I've used magic to make the undercurrent dangerous for swimmers." Rivi said. "And the hole is too small for most boats."  
"And at the other end?" The scientist wondered.

"It comes out in a room near Waterfall that is pitch black, with lots of holes in the walls." Asriel told him. "It doesn't look at all remarkable, at that end."

Gaster smiled. "What a shame it will be when you are too large to fit through the gap."

"Eh, we'll work something out."

Rivi nodded. "By the time that's a problem, I will be driving full scale boats, rather than just this little catboat." Rivi said. "And Asriel will be let out of the palace, surely."

"Surely." The Prince responded.

"Huh."

Most of the rip through the canal was done in silence, so as to not draw attention to themselves. Gaster hadn't really left the palace in Hotland since he arrived, and, he hadn't exactly been paying attention to the trip there, so watching the scenery as it went by was quite something.

The canal drifted by many different locations in all three of the major caverns of the underground. It also went through tunnels and through many twists and turns.

"Look sharp, people." Rivi said after an hour. "Snowdin Docks is just after this next tunnel."

Gaster could smell the snow from here.

The dark of the tunnel gave way to the brightness of the Snowdin Cavern. The skeleton found himself blinking in the brightness. How on earth Snowdin was so light he had no idea!

"Here we go… I can only stop for a minute before I'm spotted! So get ready to get off the boat!" Rivi hissed.

Gaster and Asriel both nodded, and, as Rivi pulled his little boat up to the pier, the Prince made a great leap for the shore. Gaster, on the other hand, used his magic on the boat, giving him an extra few seconds to make a more controlled step with his long legs from ship to shore.

Rivi didn't notice.

"Thanks Rivi!" The Prince whispered, grinning. "I'll ring the bell when we need a lift back, okay?"

"I'll try and be around. If mama catches me out here on my own I'm toast!" And with that, the junior boatdriver slid around the bend, and out of sight.

Asriel grinned, and grabbed Gaster's hand, making him blink. "Come on, Dr. Gaster! Lead the way!"

The scientist looked down at the child for a long moment, but, then he looked around. They were basically in the middle of town where they were, and would have to walk through people's backyards in order to get around. So it seemed like just walking would be less suspicious. "Alright… I suppose we may as well go."

And so, the tall skeleton led the small Prince through Snowdin.

Like the last time he was here, the people stared at him. But, this time, they also stared at the Prince. Gaster could hear them whispering, "Is that the Prince?"

"Oh, look at his darling face."

"Who's that guy he's with?"

But, unlike the last time, Gaster couldn't feel any concern in the gazes of the people. It seemed like… more curiosity than anything else.

Now that he looked about, the town seemed very charming. It had everything you needed, a Library, a Hospital, an Inn and a shop… and it had a bright, friendly feel to it.

They walked by one of the grandest houses in the area, hearing an upset monster on the phone. "Are you serious?! I can't believe that! I….I'll have to sell my house!"

Ah, at least Gaster never had to worry about those troubles, living in the palace. But, it wasn't as though he had any money himself, either. The King and Queen provided his everything. It suddenly made him feel like a leech.

"Ah! Look at this bridge!" Asriel exclaimed. "Woah…" The Prince leant down and looked over the edge of the chasm. "Deep!"

"This is all… unfamiliar." Gaster admitted. "I must have been unconscious when I was brought through here."

"Well, I suppose we have to get onto the other side?" Asriel said, looking worriedly at the swaying bridge.

Gaster smiled. This was something he could manage. He put a hand on the railing of the bridge, and watched Asriel's eyes widen in awe as whiteness spread out from Gaster's hand, freezing the bridge in place.

"There we are." He said, holding out a hand to the Prince again. "Rock solid."

"W...wa...was…. was that… magic?!" Asriel exclaimed.

"You've seen my magic before, haven't you?" Gaster wondered.

"No!" Was the squeaked answer. "You would stop practicing whenever I came into the training room!"

"Ah.. well, it's more…. a safety thing." He said. "I'm still not very good with it… even after this long."

Asriel looked at Gaster owlishly as they walked across the time stopped bridge. "Aren't you an adult?"  
"Hm?" The skeleton looked down at the child. "Yes?"

"I thought all adults were good at magic."

Gaster chuckled as his boots hit snow, and the bridge regained its colour behind them. "Not all of them. Why else do you think I practice?"

"I dunno, I thought you might have been making up new magic tricks or something." The child offered.

"Well, my magic is…. different." He said. "I only have two tricks."

"Tell me!"

Gaster huffed, but consented to talk as they headed towards the trees. "I can make time go slower, or, make time go faster." And never backwards. He reminded himself, feeling his left cheekbone twitch. Never, ever backwards.

"Time control! How….how cool!" He giggled.

Gaster smiled at the Prince, before looking up at the trees around them. "...Now…. I did not think this through." He remarked. "This forest… all looks the same."

"Well, there is a path at least." Asriel said. "Shall we just stick to it?"

The scientist nodded. "That is an excellent plan." Gaster told him. "We are looking for a large door… made of stone with a purple colour to it."

"Oh!" The Prince grinned. "So, surely it will be in the wall of the cavern!"

They strode along the path, and after what felt like at least an hour of walking among the trees, they found it.

"Ah ha!" Gaster grinned. "Here it is!" His smile became sad. "Just as I left it."

"So… you came out of this door?" Asriel asked.  
"Yes…. there was a house on the other side, but, it was empty and covered in dust. No one had been in there for a long time until I got there… and I imagine no one will have been there since."

"How do we open your door?" The Prince asked, running over to it. "It doesn't have a handle."

"Hm…"

Suddenly, Asriel jumped back from the door as the image on its surface started to glow. "Wh...what's it doing?"

Gaster was baffled. "I don't know! It didn't do this before!"

"Do you… think it glows when it opens?"

"It didn't glow the last time…."

Asriel reached a hand out. "Maybe that means it's unlocked… let me try…" He put his hand on the door… and at the Prince's light touch…. the door swung open.


	26. Fallen Child

He'd been able to open that large door from the inside when he was wounded, so, Gaster was only a little worried when it slid shut with a heavy thud behind them. Asriel was still a little worried.

"We'll…. be able to get out again, right?"

"Yes." Gaster said with certainty. "I was able to get out, after all."

The Prince nodded. "Okay."

Even still, Gaster did not let go of the child's hand until they reached the end of the corridor, and headed up the stairs into the old, abandoned house.

"Wow!" Asriel said, looking around. "It's… It's just like our quarters back at the palace!"

"...It is." Gaster said, having not thought of it. "...The layout is the same."

He giggled and darted off down a hallway. "My room would be over here!"

"P...Prince Asriel don't run off!" Gaster jogged after him.

He watched the boy yank open the door to 'his' room, only for his face to fall at the dusty nothing on the other side.

Gaster sighed and put a hand on the child's head. "I told you… this place is empty." He frowned a little as he looked around. "Although…"

"Although?" Asriel followed his line of sight to a brown smear on the floorboards. "...You can tell where I had walked."

The Prince squeaked. "Is….is that…. blood?!"

"Yes… " Gaster used the blood trail to retrace his steps through the house to the front door. "Seems as though I was the last one in here."

Asriel grasped Gaster's hand. "You were hurt?"

"By the time I got here, I had broken my leg from a fall." He explained. "But, otherwise? I suppose so."

They stepped through the door and headed past a large tree, one that Gaster hadn't even noticed the first time through.

"Wow… this place is huge!" Asriel exclaimed.  
"Yes…. But… at least we have a path to follow." He said. "Say, you can summon fire like your father can, yes?"

"N...well…. yeh…. But it's not very good."

Gaster ruffled his fur a little. "We only need a little flame, so we can see where we are going." He smiled at the child. "Think of it as practice."

"Ah… okay…" Asriel put out his hands, and focused hard. A moment later, a small red ball of fire appeared between his palms.

"Well done!" Gaster praised. "Now we can see much better."

Asriel giggled. He did it!

The two of them followed the dried trail of Gaster's blood through the dark corridors. Luckily, it didn't seem that any of the puzzles he had solved needed solving again from the other side. Some of them… the path was more obvious than others.

Gaster peered down one of the holes. "Ah… this is the one that broke my leg."

"It's deep…." Asriel commented, also looking down.

"I'm lucky I didn't break my neck." He remarked.

After a time, they emerged into a large cavern, with actual, natural light pouring in from above. Gaster looked up, and, for the first time in years… saw a brilliant blue sky.

Asriel stared at it. "Woooooah! What...what's… that?!"

"...The sky." Gaster whispered. "It...it's a beautiful day…."

In this cavern, there were plants. Small shrubs, grasses, and flowers were growing in the centre of the cavern where the sun was the strongest. There were even small trees in here. Different varieties than what was found beyond the puzzles and the stone door.

"Wow…" Asriel whispered, looking around and up.

Gaster had a look around the area, before looking up at the sky. "This… must be the only place in the underground you can see the sky…" He said, looking at the vines that were growing down the sides of the deep hole that gave the cavern it's light.

It was about then that a noise sounded from above. "Eh?"

"What's that?" Asriel asked.

"Sh… listen…." Gaster frowned. "...It's….coming from the surface."

It sounded like angry shouting. It was too far away for them to work out exactly what was being said, and, a few moments later, dark shapes appeared at the rim of the chasm above.

Gaster frowned.

But, before he could say anything more, the figures above tossed something over the edge, and it came hurtling down.

"Woah! They threw something!"

"...Quite a big something…. …...oh god…" Gaster whispered.

"What?"

"Tha…. that's a child!" He exclaimed, breaking into a run. They'd die the moment they hit the ground!

He managed to get underneath the falling child fairly quickly, and he looked up again, just in time to see something quite strange.

The air about halfway down shimmered, and the child seemed to slow as it passed through. It was almost like there was a net catching it, made of a soap bubble. But then, the child broke through the net, and Gaster watched the hole in it close up before it regained its regular shape and shimmered right out of view.

"Here they come!" Asriel squeaked, slamming his eyes shut as the child hurtled towards the ground.

"AH!" Gaster yelped, and his hands snapped out.

Very slowly, Asriel opened his eyes, and peeked. Gaster was still standing beside him, arms outstretched and panting, although that was from adrenaline rather than exertion.

In front of them, at about Gaster's head height, there was the child, devoid of all colour, and frozen in time.

Gaster sighed, and reached up, plucking the child out of the air before letting go of the time around them. They went limp in his arms, and, didn't seem to be conscious.

"Y… You saved them!" Asriel shrieked, as Gaster gently lay the child on the ground and knelt beside them.

"They would not have survived the fall…" Gaster whispered, looking back up at the sky. "They… tossed him down here to die…"

Asriel tilted his head to one side, looking at the child. They had shoulder length brown hair, and were wearing a green sweater with a thick yellow stripe through the middle."...Is it a him?"

Gaster looked back down. "...Not sure. It has been… so long since I saw a human. Without checking the physical features… they could be male, or female, I suppose." He scooped the child up into his arms. "But, what gender they are isn't important. They're hurt…. we should… get them to a hospital, perhaps."

"The best doctors are in New Home! We should take them there!" The Prince announced.

The form in Gaster's arms twitched, and then, the child's eyes opened. They were a dark brownish red colour, not unlike the colour of the dried blood Gaster had left as their spider's trail through the puzzle tunnels.

"Oh they're awake!" Asriel squeaked, leaning in close. "You took quite a fall! Are you okay?"

The child blinked at the fuzzy white creature leaning down to look at them where they sat in Gaster's lap. "...Maybe." They said quietly.

Asriel blinked. "What's your name?"

"...Chara."

"Chara, huh?" Asriel smiled at them. "That's a nice name. My name is Asriel! Asriel Dreemurr! And this is Dr. Gaster!"

Asriel motioned to the tall creature that Chara was laying in the arms of, and the human tilted their head to look up at the skeleton. They shrunk down in his arms a little.

"I…. I'm dead...?"

Gaster smiled tiredly. "No child." He said. "I may be dead, but you're still alive. Wounded, but alive." He desperately tried to ignore Asriel's baffled expression at that comment.

"We'll take you home!" Asriel said, trying not to dwell on that odd comment from the scientist. "We know people that will heal you up right good!"

Chara nodded, and Gaster stood up. "You aren't heavy." He told them. "So, I can carry you."

"Thank…. thank you."


	27. Not at Fault

Their original plan had been to sneak out, see if there was anything that jolted Gaster's memory, and then sneak back.

But, this plan was not really going to work anymore, seeing as Gaster now had the small form of Chara in his arms. There was no point sneaking back in, when they would have to front up about where they found the human in the first place.

So, Prince Asriel and Doctor Gaster walked through Snowdin, enduring the looks of the villagers until they reached the docks. And, news quickly spread through the boatmen that the Prince was in Snowdin, waiting for a boat back to the Palace.

Cas, and the grand Royal Barge, were the ones to slide up to the pier where they were waiting.

"You are in a lot of trouble, young Prince." They said.

"...I know." Asriel agreed.

"I will talk to your parents." Gaster said. "I'll take responsibility for this outing."  
"You are the adult, after all." Cas snarked, making Gaster flinch. "It has been a while, Mr. Gaster."

Gaster actually found himself surprisingly irked by the fact that the boatdriver had not used 'Doctor' like everyone else. What a preposterous thought! It wasn't as though he had _earned_ the title! Everyone just _presumed_ he had a doctorate in something. Maybe he used to? But, that didn't count, surely!

"Yes… Cas, I think it was?"

"Indeed. When news got to me that the two of you were out here, I reported to Asgore. He knows about your little excursion, and frankly, isn't impressed."

Gaster sighed. He could just picture the King's disappointed expression.

"Who's that in your arms, there?"

Gaster looked down at the child. "This… is… our… guest." He said. "They need medical care."

The hooded head tilted to one side curiously. "Why not take them to the Snowdin hospital?"

"The doctors in Hotland are better!" Asriel piped up.

"I do not really think that the doctors there will treat a human child with any care." Gaster said flatly.

Cas started. "Th…. that's…. a human?!"

"Yes." Gaster answered. "It is."

"...And you're just… carrying it in your arms like it's nothing!?"

Gaster sighed. "Humans aren't dangerous!" He declared.

"I know several hundred monsters trapped underground by a human spell that would disagree!"

"This is a CHILD, Cas." Gaster growled. "Are you really going to pin the blame for something that humans hundreds of years ago in a WAR on a child, whose PARENTS wouldn't have been alive at the time?"

The boat driver spluttered, and looked away. "...Y…..you make a good point."

The scientist sighed, and stepped onto the boat. "Just take us to the capital." He huffed.

Asriel jumped onto the boat as well.

Having been distinctly told, Cas raised the anchor and took off, heading towards New Home.

To pass the time, Gaster made a start on checking Chara's injuries. The child had fallen asleep during their wait for the boat, and so, he tried not to jostle them much. Thankfully, they didn't appear to be too hurt… a few bruises, and they seemed very thin, but nothing major so far as he could tell.

"...Humans are… very strange looking." Asriel commented.

Gaster felt an unexpected pang of offence at the remark. "Oh? What makes you say that?"

"They're like…. they're sort of shaped like, me, but their heads are round… like yours!" He tilted his head. "This one has brown fur on top of their head, but look like they've been shaved everywhere else." A final critical look over the human, and Asriel finished with, "And they don't have claws or sharp teeth, or tails or spines, or anything! I always thought humans would look more….. scary."

Gaster blinked, and then started to laugh. "Ahaha, Asriel…" He chuckled. "There is a reason why _humans_ are afraid of _monsters._ "

The Prince stared at him, aghast. Cas, also, seemed surprised to hear that. "S...Scared of...us? But… we're peaceful, mostly!"

"And so are they, mostly." Gaster responded. "Fear can drive the kindest of men to do the most dreadful things. But, those that were not at fault… should never be held to blame for it."

The rest of the trip happened in silence.


	28. Grounded

Asgore was waiting for them as they came up to the New Home docks. Gaster couldn't bring himself to look at him… that disappointed expression he was sure to be wearing was heartbreaking to think of, let alone actually see.

"Asriel, are you alright?" Was the first thing the King said as they got off the boat.

"Y-...Yes Daddy."

"Dr. Gaster." The tone was a little rougher. "Why-...!?"

The question was cut off, as Asgore's large eyes landed on the creature still sleeping in Gaster's arms.

"Asgore… this child needs medical care." Gaster said, still not looking at the King.  
"Where did…. they come from?" He asked, reaching a paw down to brush some of their brown hair out of their face.

"There is a place… at the end of the caverns…" Gaster said quietly. "...Where there is sky."

Asgore blinked. "Sky?"

"I saw the sky, Daddy!" Asriel piped up. "It was blue! And bright! We both saw it!"

Asgore frowned. "There is no sky in the caverns… except… beyond… Home."

Gaster blinked, and finally allowed himself to look up at the Boss Monster. "Home?"

"The old capital." Asgore said. "Where we first settled, when the humans trapped us down here. It is the closest to the surface at that end of the cavern…. the crater of the volcano."

"That sounds like the place…" Gaster looked down at Chara. "This child…. fell down the crater… I caught them, but..."

"Hm….." Asgore sighed. "I don't know… It's… it's been such a long time… since we saw humans… perhaps…." He brightened a little. "Perhaps… this is a chance… to repair relations with the surface!"

Gaster blinked. "Huh?"

"Come, come… let's have the child seen to." He said. "And after that, you can both have your _talking to._ "

Asriel and Gaster both winced in response.

Gaster let himself be consoled, even a little bit, that had they not snuck out, and gone through the ruins, there would be a dead child at the far end of the cavern.

Asgore summoned a doctor, one Gaster was familiar with, and they looked the child over. He set the child's arm, bandaged their cuts, and put soothing salves on their bruises. It was everything familiar to Gaster for these sorts of injuries, as one of those irritatingly fleeting memories pushed to the surface while they watched the doctor work.

"They should have lots of rest." The doctor advised. "They seem underfed, too. They're very skinny."

"Thank you, Doctor. Much appreciated." Asgore said, having also watched the Doctor, although, he had more intended to keep Gaster and Asriel (mostly Asriel) in sight.

The doctor bowed, and took his leave, and Asgore reached down to scoop the child up again. "We will take the child to one of the guest rooms." He decided. "Come with me, the both of you."

"D….daddy….." Asriel sniffled. "D...Don't be mad at Doctor Gaster! It was my idea to sneak out!"  
"Come. Along. Asriel." Asgore was actually angry!

Asriel winced, and trotted along behind Asgore, sobbing. Gaster followed, and although he wasn't outwardly crying, internally, he was panicked. What…. What kind of trouble were they in….? They'd actually gotten Asgore angry! It would have been a major mark of achievement if the situation wasn't so dire.

They followed the king in silence, aside from the tiny sobs of the prince. Through the castle, not far from where their own bedrooms were, Asgore turned towards one of the guest wings. But, not before bellowing down towards his and Toriel's room, "Toriel! Our son has returned!"

There was a scrambling from up the hall, and the king and queen's bedroom door was flung open as Toriel burst out of it, sprinting down the hall.

She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around Asriel before he could protest. "Are you hurt?! Where were you!? We were so worried!"

It just made Gaster feel guilty. And made Asriel cry harder.

"Come, come, Toriel…. We will talk in a moment…." Asgore said, shifting Chara in his arms. "We have a guest."

Toriel looked up, about to launch into a tirade about how any 'guest' could wait, but, before it could pass her lips, she spotted the child. "...Asgore…?"

"These two found this little one on their escapade." Asgore told her. "They've not woken up… but, the doctor seems to think they will be alright, with rest." He shifted Chara into the crook of one large arm, and opened the door to the guest room with the now freed hand.

"Such a tiny child…. Are you sure it's alright?" Toriel whispered.  
"I can only trust the doctor." Asgore said. "I do not know much about humans."

The king lay Chara in the bed, and tucked the sheets around them comfortably. Then, after watching them for a short moment, he ushered the others out of the room, and closed the door.

The click of the door had hardly stopped hitting their ears when Asgore turned on them.

 _"What on earth were you THINKING?"_ He hissed.

Gaster winced, and finally managed to drag his eyes up to Asgore's face, and was surprised to note there was no anger where he thought it should be. There was panic, worry, and tears rimming the bottom of his big eyes. "You could have been _killed!_ "

Asriel started to cry again.

Gaster groaned. "...There….. There is no excuse." He said. "But…. The young Prince was talking about….. My….. memory…. And… I wasn't thinking rationally… I….. I'm sorry!" He felt his legs tremble, and he bent at the waist, bowing low to the king.

Asgore grumbled. "You should have said something." He said. "We would have gone with you. Or sent a guard, or something."

"But we didn't think you wooooould!" Asriel cried, still wiping tears off his fuzzy cheeks. "I….I just… wanted to help Doctor Gaster! That's aaaaaall!"

Toriel sighed, and hugged the child. "You must not go beyond your means, little one." She said. "Sneaking out? That is not okay, no matter your intentions!"

The prince sniveled, trying to stop crying but having difficulty with the concept.

Gaster rose from his bow ever so slightly. "...Please… don't be harsh on the child….. I should have not gone along with his idea…"

"You are both just as at fault as one another!" Toriel declared. "Do you have any idea how distraught we were, when news got to us that the two of you were at the far side of the cavern in Snowdin, of all places! I am yet to work out how you two got there without anyone seeing!"

Gaster winced. "...I can show you how we left the castle." He said.

Asriel looked as though he'd been punched in the stomach.

"And show us you shall." Asgore decreed. "I doubt my Captain will be pleased there is a secret entrance that he is unable to patrol."

"I...I only… wanted to go and play… he won't…. Let my friends in…. Or me out….!" Asriel sobbed quietly.

Toriel huffed. "I did not know we were raising such a sneaky, disobedient child!" She knelt in a manner that meant she was breaking out the special occasion punishment. She picked Asriel up, and lay him across her knee, and delivered two swift spanks to his backside, just below his tail, with the flat of her hand. The prince cried hard.

Gaster wouldn't have been surprised if she grabbed him to do to the same. After all, it wasn't as though he'd not screwed up just as badly. Probably worse, being as he was meant to be the responsible adult.

She didn't, though. "You're both grounded!" The queen declared. "You're not to be out of our sight, Asriel!"

Frankly, they couldn't have begged for better.


	29. Hanger-On

Over the next few days, Prince Asriel was subjected to a near perfect literal interpretation of his mother's words. An attempt to go to get something from his school bag without asking first ended with another swift strike to the backside and a rebuke.

Gaster was sure that Toriel and Asgore couldn't really be held to task over it. Their only child, breaking out of the castle how many times, for who knows how long… he could have drowned in the water and no one would have ever known, or, given the lack of physical remains, found him. They were frightened.

For his part, he was an adult. They couldn't ground him so much as they could pointedly not leave him alone with the young prince. And, although he also didn't blame them for that, it also cut deep. Their trust in him had been severely wounded.

The human child… Chara, was turning out to be a good companion for the prince, though. After waking, they clung to Asriel like a lifeline, as the only familiar face, no matter how little a familiarity it was. Asriel had loaned them some of his clothes, and they became an inseparable, matching set.

It hurt Gaster to watch. And, although he had lived with the Royal Family in the castle for years now…. He'd never felt more out of place. Even when he woke up down here he didn't feel so wretchedly… hanger-on-y.

So, he resolved to move out.

Which was just as heart breaking a thought as being an outsider in his own home.

Asgore had been paying him, for his work with the other Scientists. He'd never really bought more than some clothes and books with his income, as everything had been provided for him, and he'd never questioned it. So, he had quite enough money to buy a house. Pretty much any house he wanted.

He'd not told Asgore that he was looking at houses to buy. He wasn't sure if he could face the King with that news just now. So, he just took his time, looking at this house, and that apartment.

Really, he shouldn't have been looking at anything further away from the CORE than Hotland. But, he looked at the strangely shaped homes of Waterfall, and, some of the more charming homes in waterfall.

It was one of these houses he was looking at today. A familiar house that he had seen dozens of times before. And, seen change hands a few times over the years.  
"Are you interested in this place, uh...sir?" The serpentine real estate agent asked, spotting Gaster reading the details on the FOR SALE sign.

Gaster looked over. "Hm? Yes, I would be interested, please. Is it available to inspect?"

The agent nodded, but made a face. "It is, but… this place has changed hands a lot lately… all of the owners have met with poor circumstances and needed to sell… Almost as if it were cursed."

Gaster frowned. "That is not a good way to sell a house." He remarked.

"No, but, I have to be honest sir." He said.

Gaster looked up at the small, two story house. It was neat, well looked after, and would be more than big enough for him on his own. "I would like to see the house, please."

The serpent shrugged, but then nodded. "As you wish sir, come right this way."

The house had a large main living space, a decent kitchen, and, up a small flight of stairs, there was a corridor with two bedrooms, and a bathroom. Well, shower room in this case.

The corridor was also half balcony, which looked out over the living space.

It had a small back yard as well, with a long abandoned vegetable garden in one corner, and there was a storage room accessible from the yard as well. It would have been under the bedrooms.

This was the place. It gave Gaster a strange sense of safety.

"I would like to put an offer on this house." He told the agent.

The agent was more than happy to oblige.


	30. Throb

The funny thing about buying a house that was getting a reputation for being cursed, is that the cost of it became rather small. And frankly, Gaster wasn't sure what sort of horrible fate would need to befall him in order to force him to sell the house in a hurry.

If he lost his job at the CORE and thus needed to sell the house in order to eat, he would have had to have slighted Asgore and Toriel in a way that far surpassed putting Asriel in the danger he had already done. He didn't see that happening, some how.

So, hardly a few weeks later, Gaster was moving into the charming house. Which took him all of a day, what with his only possessions being some books and some clothes. He'd need a bed, and… cooking things, plates….

The funny thing about moving out of your fully furnished, all expenses paid home, is that you realise just how little you actually have to call your own.

The other funny thing about moving out of your fully furnished, all expenses paid home, is that even if you haven't told the guy paying your bills… he is probably going to notice you doing it anyway.

This held true for Asgore, as he came across Gaster trying to get out the door with a large box of books in his skinny arms. The king gently took the box off Gaster with a single large paw, and smiled at him. "Doing some cleaning, Gaster?"

Gaster tried so very hard to not look guilty. "N...No… Asgore… I'm….. m-moving out…" He muttered.

There was a long pause as Asgore processed that. "You're…...what?"

"...I'm moving out." Gaster said again, not looking at the taller creature.

Asgore put the box on the floor and gently put a hand on each of Gaster's shoulders. "You're leaving? But...why, Gaster?!" He seemed really upset!

The skeleton refused to look at him. "I've… mooched off you for… far too long…." He said. "S...so… I found a place for… myself."

"Oh but… but Gaster, you're no burden…" Asgore said gently.

"I feel like it." Gaster said dully. "A-and…. You could… use the room for your family."

Asgore pouted. "...Why did… you not tell me?"

Gaster shook his head. "I couldn't…. Work out what words to use…" He said.

The king sighed, and pet Gaster's arm gently. "This isn't…. Because of what happened, is it?"

It was, but then it wasn't. "...Maybe." Was his eventual answer.

"Have you found a home already?" Asgore asked.

That got a slightly more enthusiastic answer. "Y-yes…. It's… a cute little house… in Snowdin…" Gaster said. "I still need…. To furnish it, but…"

Asgore stood up straight, and folded his arms. "Well, if you think it will be best for you… at the very least… let me help you move."

Gaster stared up at him. "Y...you aren't…. Going to stop me?"

The Boss Monster shook his head. "You are an adult. You made your decision long ago… I can't change that." He sighed. "We will miss you."

That made Gaster smile a little. "I will… miss you too… but…. I will still be around… I still have to work…. At the CORE… after all…"

That made Asgore grin. "Yes! Yes you do! Oh, that is a comfort, at least."

Gaster smiled, but before he could say anything further, Asgore picked up the heavy box of books again. "Let me help you." He said. "I couldn't bear to have my dear friend struggle with these things alone."

Gaster gave Asgore an exasperated look, but smiled and went to go and get another box of things.

Between the two of them, and some help from Asgore's Boat Driver, they got Gaster's meager collection of possessions to the house that day.

"Oh it IS cute." Asgore remarked, seeing the house as they approached it. "Adorable!"

Gaster smiled, pleased that Asgore approved of his choice. "I like it." He said. "It…. might be a little too small to fit you inside, though…" He added, looking at the size of the front door, and then at the King.

"Ah… yes… that does… seem to be an issue." Asgore stood beside the front door. He was broader than it, _and_ taller than it. It had a high ceiling thanks to the way the second story overlooked the first, but, getting him in there was probably more of a complex issue than it was worth.

"...No matter." He said. "I'll just push these boxes through the front door. And… should you invite me over for tea… perhaps we could have a picnic." He suggested.

Gaster squeaked. "M...make you sit outside?!"

"I don't mind! Snowdin is more suited to smaller creatures in general. I am… frankly… out of place, here."

Gaster frowned at that, but had nothing to say.

"Do you have a bed? And a comfortable chair?" Asgore went on to ask.

Gaster blushed. "Ah.. n-no. I have…. No furniture at all… just my books and clothes…"

Asgore put his hands on his hips. "Well that won't do, my friend." He said. "As a housewarming present… please let me buy you a bed at least!"

Gaster tried to protest. "I couldn't ask you to buy me anything! Not after putting me up for nothing for so long…!"

"You're not asking." Asgore chided gently. "I'm _insisting._ "

Gaster sighed. "...Well…. As long as you insist…."

"I do!" He said, gently opening Gaster's new front door with only his forefinger and thumb, and placing the boxes inside. "Let's get these inside, and then we can go furniture shopping for you!"

The skeleton pouted. "A bed and nothing more!"

"Oh fine." Asgore huffed. "Why can't I dote on you?"

"You have a child to dote on." Gaster reminded him. "Even though he's still grounded, dote on your child."

Asgore frowned. "But, you are my friend. Nothing saying I cannot dote on my friends."

"Your friend is saying you shouldn't dote on your friend!" Gaster said, exasperated. "You put me up with no rent for years, Asgore… I can't keep taking from you!"

Asgore sighed. "If it bothers you that much…" He said. "I will buy you a bed and nothing more."

Gaster sighed. "Thank you."

Gaster was relieved that Asgore had relented at least that much. He should have expected the small amount of treachery that had been devised by the larger creature though…

Never one to let a good cause go, no matter how much the good cause wanted him to just get his nose out of things, Asgore sent word to the castle while Gaster was testing out mattresses in New Home. Toriel, then, became the person to buy him sheets and towels as his house warming present. Asriel was the one to purchase him a fridge. Helei bought him some plates and cutlery, and Mayda presented him with a gift basket of foods.

Gaster had never realised how hard it was to be angry when people were being so kind and caring.

But it felt good to finally, at the end of the long day, lock his very own front door, climb his very own stairs, and collapse into his very own bed. It was something he didn't realise he had been lacking.

But, his first night in his very own house… was not a night he got to sleep peacefully through. He woke before 3 in the morning, a strange throb in his soul…. And a wordless whisper in his head.


	31. Splat

He sat there in silence for a while, focusing on that feeling. It was unlike anything he'd felt before. If was like… a tension in his chest, with a...pulse. A throb. Like that long forgotten heartbeat, that he was almost starting to think he had imagined.

But why was he feeling it now? It had been accompanied by a whisper that was… he couldn't say it was words, but… it was certainly enough to wake him.

He pulled himself out of bed and got dressed, still tired, but begrudgingly wide awake. Something wanted his attention, that was for sure. Something that did not behave in normal manner, and certainly did not operate at the same hour as the rest of them, either. Worse still, if he didn't oblige, he was sure he would not have a moment's peace. That was how mysterious powers like this worked.

 _Do my bidding, feeble mortal,_ They surely think. _Pander to my whims!_

And he liked to think he was more in control of his life than that, nowadays.

But here he was, in spite of that way of thinking, trudging through the woods in the snow at some god-awful time of the morning, at the behest of it. And it's behest seemed to take him in a straight line to the Ruins door.

He shuddered.

He'd only been here twice in all the years he had spent in the underground. He wasn't sure he was fond of the area any more after those two excursions than he had been before. One had been while nursing broken bones and apparently losing most of his human flesh, the other had resulted in them rescuing a human child. Frankly, he wasn't sure he had recovered from the aftermath of THAT escapade either.

He looked up at the imposing stone door.

When he and Asriel had come here, it had… reacted to the child. Something about him had made the door open. Asriel was not with him now, and so Gaster was not at all sure if he could go any further. It hadn't opened for him. So, if this insistent power that was really wanted him to go back into the ruins it would need to provide some sort of solu-

"What the…"

He leant closer to the door. It seemed as though, presumably when he and Asriel had been here, a rock, well, a chunk of the Ruins ceiling, to be more accurate, had fallen, and left the door ajar.

"...You have got to be kidding me." He muttered. Had it all planned out, didn't you, mysterious presence. Just had to get your way.

Fine then.

He reached over, and pulled the door open. Aside from some more snow than usual, it was the same as they left it: Dark, dank, very old blood stained… slightly crumbly. Good to know.

He picked his way down the dark corridor towards the stairs that led up to the house. 'Home' Asgore had said. Had he known he was going to end up here, he would have brought a torch or something. The strange whisper could have at least said!

The feeling in his chest grew stronger as he made his way back through the puzzles towards the cavern at the far end. Surely… surely that meant that he was getting close to whatever it was he had been sent on this mad errand for. And hopefully, it would be a short errand that he could do quickly, and then go back to bed with minimal fuss. If that was the case though, he imagined the feeling in his chest would not be beating so strongly.

It made him nervous.

As he entered the cavern, his first instinct was to look up. Not much to see from this angle, but the soft white light of the moon was still streaming in from above. It was still night, at least, which, he decided was a comfort. Sort of. Couldn't you have waited till morning, powers that be?

He had hardly stepped out through the doorway and into the cavern proper when movement above caught his attention. The feeling in his chest was suddenly drowned out by a stronger, much more horrific feeling…

As a human body hit the stone cave floor with a 'whump'...and a 'splat'.


	32. Sponge

A dull silence fell over the cavern as Gaster slowly picked his way over. The feeling in his chest had been replaced with a dull ache. Had he…. Had he been plagued with that feeling so he would save this person like he had done Chara? Had he come all the way out here… and failed?

The human laying on the stone couldn't have been any older than ten years old. He was… well… he was in the condition you would expect, having fallen from such a height, landing on your back on hard stone. In addition to that, he seemed to have cuts and scrapes all up his arms, and a large gash across his right eye.

Remarkably, he was still alive. Only just, and Gaster would be darned if he stayed that way long. But he was still breathing. Shallow, gurgly breaths, and were far too weak to be of use, but, there.

Gaster didn't know what to do. He didn't dare try and make time go backwards again. He could slow it, or stop it but, his influence over the child would vanish if he got too far away. So he couldn't go for help.

And he wasn't sure if he could keep his magic focused on the child and carry him back. He wasn't even sure if there was anything that could be done, even if he did find help.

After a moment… maybe two, the breathing stopped.

Gaster bit his thumb, and started to ponder perhaps burying the child, when there was a shimmer from above. He looked up, and saw the bubble like shimmer he had glimpsed when Chara had fallen, stretched out across the cavern.

It flexed and swelled, and Gaster felt the most curious tug on his soul. Not at all like the feeling that dragged him out here, but, more like… someone was actually pulling on it.

His soul, thankfully, was well and truly put.

But there was something that responded to the tug.

A vibrant blue glowing heart squeezed its way out of the human child's ruined torso, and floated up towards the multicoloured gossamer curtain. Gaster could only watch in bafflement as the heart was pulled up into the mass above, and was tightly bound by thousands of tiny threads that glowed with the same white and rainbow shimmer that the rest of the expanse did. They gave the heart a firm squeeze… and squeezed the colour out of it.

Like a sponge soaking up water, the bubble like shimmer soaked up the blue that it was squeezing out of the heart. It's colour dulled and dulled, but, then, as he watched, it started to struggle. And with a determined tug, it slipped between the threads, and started to fall back through the air. Now a dull grey with only the faintest hint of blue, the heart drifted down towards the ground, like a petal on the wind.

It floated down, twitching and pulsing, and several threads from above tried to recapture it. Gaster watched in amazement as the tiny heart twisted and danced through the air to avoid capture, before finally, settling back on the fallen boy's chest, coming to rest with the point aiming at his chin.

And then...

 _He started breathing again._

Gaster couldn't believe it. The child was alive?! After falling all this way, and then… whatever that was…

As Gaster crept closer, the boy's eyes fluttered. The heart soaked back into his chest, and then, as Gaster gently lowered himself to his knees beside him… his eyes opened.

And only two pale dots looked up at him.

The two recoiled away from one another, one in shock, the other, in fear. What he was seeing was filling Gaster with dread. The human's skin was slowly starting to rot away… some bone was showing already.

If this was what was happening to this human… then…. To the human he had been once….

The boy's bones had already knitted after the fall down here, and he started scootching away. [G….get….away…!] He squeaked.

Gaster gasped. "W...wingdings…?!" He'd not spoken that tongue for years! [W….wait!] He was surprised he still knew these mixed up words. [I won't…. I won't hurt you!]

The familiar language didn't seem to soothe him any, and he continued to scoot backwards, leaving more of his withering human flesh and blood behind. [I...I didn't…. I didn't… do anything…! So g...get away…!]

Gaster frowned, and slid from his knees, to a sitting position in the bloodied grass. [Sh..shhh. It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you.]

[Y...you can't trick me!] The boy declared, trying to pull himself up on a rock but slipping as his hands were slick with blood. [Y...You're a monster! You eat humans…!]

[I'm a…] He frowned, and looked up at the sky. The shimmer that he kept seeing above had vanished again. [Well…. It is true, I suppose.] He responded, mentally kicking himself as the boy tried to get away from him with renewed vigor. [But…. I'm not going to eat you. I much prefer scones.]

That remark made the boy hesitate. [S...scones…?]

Gaster nodded. [Mmhmm…. I learned how to make my own…. And I have delightful fruit jam in my fridge. Are you hungry? I could make some for you.]

The boy's human face had already mostly dripped off his skull already, but, just as Gaster's skull contorted to allow him expressions, so did the child's. His eye sockets narrowed in suspicion. [T...To fatten me up for later… o...or make scones out of me!]

Gaster winced slightly, realising his mistake. He probably sounded like the witch from Hansel and Gretel. Wanting to lure him in with promise of food… then getting him closer to food than he had anticipated.

[Not at all…] He sighed. [What is your name, boy?]

[Not telling the likes of you!]

The adult shook his head. [I never did grow fond of… people being afraid of me.] He said, mostly to himself. [Maybe it would put you more at ease to know mine? My name is Gaster.] He smiled, trying to reassure him. [You know… I was much like you… years ago.]

[Eh?]

[Down here… lost, afraid…. But at least…. You don't have to navigate this place alone, like I did.]

He offered his hand to him. [I promise you, I mean you no harm at all. We are more alike than you realise.]

Gaster watched the boy's hand reach out for his own on some sort of instinct, before stopping himself.

Gaster frowned, watching the two sparks of light shining from the boy's eye sockets shrink to pinpricks, as he stared at his hand.

And he covered where his ears had once been with his hands as the boy screamed at the sight of his bones.


	33. Welcome

Gaster winced as the child screamed over his hand's lack of skin and muscle. He tried to back away from the sight of it, and moving around only made him rot faster, his flesh dripping off him in custard-like globs.

If he wasn't dealing with a child losing his ever loving mind, Gaster would have been fascinated by the process. He did have some recollection of how that felt, from his time down here, even though he didn't really know what was going on at first. In something of a quick analysis, he could only assume that it was his slower, more even movements at the beginning, had been why his flesh hadn't totally melted off by the time he made it outside.

This boy, who was still freaking out over his body melting, certainly wasn't doing anything that could be described as 'slow' or even.

[Hey… Hey, it… stops hurting after a while…] Gaster said, in an attempt to calm the child. [I… I went through the same thing!]

The boy slumped to his knees and cried. [I wanna go hoooooome…..]

Kid, I know the feeling. [I know.] He responded. [I know… but…. You can't.] He said. [There is a barrier…. Anything that comes down here…. Stays down here.] He held out his hand. [But…. at the very least… let me help you.]

The boy sniffled and looked at the offered hand, eye sockets in suspicion.

[My house isn't far. I can make scones for you, and you can have a shower, and you can borrow some of my clothes.] He smiled at him. [And I utterly promise not to eat you.]

He resisted. But, he was lost, and scared… and there was no one else, except this man.

He sniffled again, and reached out his hand, to Gaster's.

He blinked a little. [...Your hand….]

Gaster helped the boy to his feet. [What about it?]

[It's…. warm.] He blushed, a light blue tint spreading across his cheekbones. [I…. was expecting it…. To be cold.]

Gaster smiled. [Well… I suppose… I'm not dead, after all, then.] He responded. [Can you walk?]

The boy nodded, partially because he didn't want to be carried.

The adult smiled. [Were you… going to tell me your name?]

He thought about it for a long moment. [It…. it's… Sans.]

Gaster beamed. [It's my honour to meet you, Sans.] He said, before leading the boy back through the ruins.

Sans was equal parts fascinated and terrified by the ruins. Frankly, Gaster was just pleased that he wasn't forced to go through the puzzles, like he was.

[So…] Gaster tried to start conversation with the child, still clutching his hand. [Do you… remember how you fell?]

Sans looked up at him, and then looked straight ahead again, frowning. [I...not really.] He rubbed at his eye socket with his free hand. [I remember…. My eye hurting?]

Gaster nodded. That wasn't much, but, it matched some of the injuries the boy had been wearing when he came down.

Sans sniffed a little. [Why…. can't I…. remember? I…. It…. only just happened, didn't it?]

[True.] Gaster offered the boy a smile. [You almost get used to it.] He said. [Happens to me all the time. But, the more you think about it, the bigger a headache you get. I've been down here for years… and the best I've been able to manage is… I was a doctor of some sort, before I fell.]

Sans' eye sockets became owlish. [You're… a doctor?]

Gaster shrugged. [Apparently! At the moment, I'm working as a geothermal engineer… stabilising the power supply for the underground.]

Sans blinked. [Underground…?]

Gaster smiled. They were almost at the door. [I didn't realise at first… but…] They stepped out into the snow. [There is a whole world, down here.]

Sans' little jaw fell. He let go of Gaster's hand, and crouched down to touch the snow, in surprise and awe.

[Wh...why is there snow!?] He squeaked.

Gaster could only smile and shrug. [Not sure.] He admitted. [Come on… home's not far.] He offered the child his hand again. And, he would admit, if asked, that how Sans didn't hesitate to take it… really made him…. Happy.

Sans, of course, hardly noticed Gaster's pleased smile. He was too busy looking around at the massive redwood forest they were walking through… how the trees stretched taller than anything he'd ever seen, and how the forest seemed to stretch for miles around!

But, that was nothing compared to when they finally made it back to Snowdin town.

Sans clung to Gaster's arm a little. [Th….There's a…. Whole town down here!?]

[Four, if you count the ruins.] Gaster corrected him. [This is Snowdin. My house is over this way.]

Sans nodded, and allowed himself to be led. [Where…. Is everyone?] He asked.

[Hm?]

[The town… feels… a little empty.]

Gaster chuckled. [It's the middle of the night.] He said. [Everyone is asleep.]

[O-oh…] You could almost hear the child wondering why the doctor wasn't asleep, too.

Gaster didn't let go of Sans' hand again until he was putting the key to his house in the door. [Here we are…]

Sans blushed a little. [Th…..thank you for having me…]

[Think nothing of it, young man.] Gaster said, taking Sans' hand again and leading him inside. [How old are you, actually?]

[S…..seven.] He responded. [And… a half…]

Such a young thing…. Gaster sighed. [I've long forgotten my age…. I haven't been keeping track.]

He got that owlish look about him again. [S...so you could be like… a hundred years old?!]

The adult chuckled. [I don't think it's been as long as all that! But, maybe…] Gaster smiled at him. [But, come on, let's get you something to eat and some warm clothes.]

Gaster hadn't even remotely unpacked yet. So, the house was in disarray.

He rummaged through a box, and found a shirt, and he pulled some new undershorts out of their packaging. It wasn't much, but it would do. And maybe he would be able to get Sans his own clothes in the morning.

[Here you are… it's not much, but it should be comfortable enough to sleep in.]

Sans accepted the clothes, but then looked up at Gaster, somewhat baffled.

Gaster responded to the confused look with a smile. [What is it, Sans?]

[Why are you… being so nice to me?] He asked.

Gaster reached out and pet Sans' head. [Because… you're lost, and scared, and what you need most right now… is someone on your side. I don't have much, but…. If you want…. You're welcome to it, Sans.]

Gaster didn't let it show, but he was somewhat confused by the bashful, yet, downright delighted smile the boy gave him then.


	34. The Joke

Gaster's house being what it was, he didn't exactly have a spare bed for the boy to spend the night in. So, the pair of them had made do. Piles of blankets on the floor made a comfortable enough bed for Sans, beside his bed.

When he woke though, much later in the morning than he would have liked, it took him a few moments to register the tiny hands wrapped around his arm, and the small body snuggled into his side.

Frankly it was all he could do to not jump away from the child in surprise.

God, what was he going to do…. Not even one night out of the castle, not even sure if he was going to be able to look after himself, he now had someone else to look after? He rubbed his face with his free hand. If Sans was even going to stay with him, of course. He'd been frightened of him last night, what's to say that after a sleep to settle his mind, he wouldn't be again?

Gaster looked at the boy. And, against what he'd half been hoping for, Sans seemed rather content, curled into his side. This was more of that child magic wasn't it. He found himself entertaining the notion of how nice it would be to have more of his kind around.

It did make Gaster wonder, though… what WAS that? The shimmer of energy he had seen… was it the Barrier? He certainly could not claim to have any wealth of knowledge on the Barrier, but, he was not informed that it did….. That.  
What ever it had been. It had almost looked like….. It had sucked magic out of Sans' soul….. Would would imply that the young skeleton had blue magic. Gaster must have, in his human life, had even more magic than he had thought, if he were right, and the Barrier had sucked magic out of his human corpse, leaving behind a living, rotting shell.

Why though, did it not happen to Chara? Was death the requirement? Sans certainly had died after hitting the ground… it wasn't that much of a stretch then to imagine he had done, as well. It was the only difference between the three of them that was at all apparent to him.

It was not a straightforward phenomenon… and Gaster suspected there was no ready answer.

What _was_ the Barrier, after all?

Finding that the answers were not forthcoming while he remained in bed, Gaster sighed, and tried to extract his arm from Sans' grip without waking him. A noble effort, though, ultimately unsuccessful. Sans whimpered a little bit, and grasped at the air a little, before raising his head, blinking wearily.

Gaster smiled at him. [Sorry, did I wake you?] He asked.

[Sans turned and stared at him, shocked. [E...eh..?!]

The adult chuckled, and reached a hand out to pet Sans' head.

Sans continued to stare at him, bewildered.

[Oh, Come now.] Gaster laughed. [What's that look for?]

[You're….. Still here…?]

Gaster blinked. [Still…. Of course I am… I wouldn't just up and leave you.]

The disbelieving expression morphed swiftly, and surprisingly, into little sobs, and tears started trickling down his round face.

Gaster squeaked in alarm. [Oh, Sans! What… what's wrong?] He asked, kneeling on the bed to get close to the child.

Sans spring at him, and clutched to his chest. [D….do you mean it?! You won't leave me!?]

Gaster started to develop suspicions as to why a child Sans' age had been been shoved down a hole into certain death in the middle of the night. And injured, besides.

Gaster wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him into his lap. [Oh, hey…. ] He rubbed his back. [I mean it. I'm not going anywhere.] He said, all thoughts of finding the boy a different home ceasing. [As long as you want to stay.] He leant back a little and smiled at him, touching a fingertip to the little outcrop of bone that would have been the bridge of his nose. [Unless you still think I'm going to eat you?]

Sans blushed at that. [N...no.] He said. [I….I was just… I... ] He was embarrassed.

Gaster shook his head. [It's alright.] He said. [You'd had… a big night.] He smiled, and stood, scooping Sans into his arms as he did so. [Tell you what.] He said. [I wasn't going to work today anyway, so… how about we go and find you some clothes, and have a nice breakfast, and then, maybe we can unpack the house together. What do you say?]

Sans' blush darkened. [I….. I would…. Like that.]

Not that Gaster had any clue where to get children's clothes or anything, mind you. He hadn't thought that through. And he didn't want to carry the poor thing all the way to Hotland, so, he'd have to find something in Snowdin. At this point, the lady at the general store was his best bet.

He bundled Sans up in one of his jumpers, and then scooped him into his arms, so he'd not have to trudge through the snow. Gaster had never been prone to colds, but, that wasn't to say that the same was true for Sans.

[...I'm not… to heavy?] Sans asked after a while.

Gaster blinked at him. [Heavy? Why, Sans… you don't have an ounce of fat on you.] He remarked with a grin.

Sans blinked at him, then frowned. [It… all fell off.]

The scientist blinked. [I….I know, Sans… I was making a joke.]

[A joke?]

[Mmhmm…] Gaster gave the boy a little squeeze, marveling at how it didn't feel like he was carrying a skeleton at all. [To make you laugh.]

Sans pouted at him. [It didn't work.]

[It didn't, no.] Gaster was apologetic. [I'll try something else, next time.]

Gaster paused at the door to the general store, before heading inside. Most of these people hadn't really seen him since he came through here with Asgore, years ago. And to only have been in town one night…. He'd not had the chance to meet anyone.

So, the chances of him getting the same welcome as then, was fairly high….

"Welcome! How can I he…" The woman started, but then trailed off, seeing the two skeletons in her doorway. "...help you…"

Gaster swallowed, and, trying to not let how awkward he felt show, strode over to her with a smile. "Hello… I was wondering if you would… have any clothes that would fit the little one…"

She looked at the child in his arms, who was staring at her owlishly.

"Oh!...Is….. is he your son?" She asked.

Sans blushed vividly at that remark.

"Well, no, but, I am looking after him now." Gaster admitted. "I don't have any clothes for him…. Do you have anything?"

She frowned a little. "I don't… typically stock clothes… oh…. But…" She smiled at him. "But… I think I have something. Wait right here!"

And she hopped out from behind the counter, and up the stairs.

Sans was still blushing.

Gaster smiled at him. [What's that expression you're wearing?] He asked.

Sans hid his face. [N….nothing!]

Gaster chuckled. [You know… you blush in blue.]

That made Sans peek back out at him. [I….I do?]

[You do!] Gaster responded. [I blush in grey.] He added.

Sans fell quiet as he tried to picture that.

It was about then that a soft thumping sound on the stairs, heralding the rabbit woman's return to the ground floor. In her arms, she had a big bag.

"Here…" She said, offering the bag. "These are some of my son's old clothes… he's long out-grown them, and I had been meaning to get rid of them…. So, perhaps you would like them?"

"Madam that is an enormous bag… are you sure?" Gaster exclaimed.

"Oh, yes, very sure! Some of them are quite old." She smiled at them. "Your little man very well may not fit in some of these as it is, but I am sure there will be enough in here to last you until you can get to the capital!"

"Thank you!" Gaster grinned. "How much would you like for them?"

"Oh, no no, you can have them!" She said, offering the bag of clothes. "Free to a good home!"

The skeleton gasped. "Absolutely not! Let me pay you at least something for them!"

She giggled. "You've moved into that house on the other side of town yesterday, didn't you?"

Gaster recoiled slightly at the change of conversation. "...Y-yes…?"

"Then consider it a housewarming gift. From one neighbour to another." She said with a grin.

"Madam you are too kind." He responded. "Sans, you say thank you, too?"

Sans looked at the woman shyly. [Th…. thank you…]

The woman blinked. "Uh… you're welcome…?"

Sans frowned at her.

"Ah, of course, how stupid of me!" Gaster exclaimed. "I'm sorry, Sans…. We will have to teach you how to speak like everyone else."

[But…. I don't… talk weird…]

"No, you don't. But no one else speaks in Wing Dings. I had to learn, too."

"Wing Dings?" The bunny woman wondered. "Is that what you call that language?"

Gaster looked at her. "Yes, ma'am, it is. It's…." He thought about it for a moment. "...Think of it as… a Skeleton's native tongue." He said with a smirk.

Sans giggled, but the shopkeeper didn't seem to get the joke.

Gaster smiled at Sans. "Sans, I don't think I can carry you and your new clothes…. You'll have to walk on your own for a while."

Sans pouted, but nodded, and allowed Gaster to put him on the ground.

The adult then scooped the bag of clothes up, and headed for the door. "Thank you again!" He said to the bunny woman as they stepped out into the snow, Sans clinging to the side of Gaster's shirt.

They were half way back to their house when Sans giggled again. [Skeletons don't have tongues.]

Gaster grinned. [That's the joke.]


	35. Hotland

It took them a few hours to sort through the clothes they had been given. The pair of them just ended up eating toast on the floor, while Sans tried on, and showed off every shirt and pants he'd been given. Gaster was able to put aside maybe a quarter of the clothes for Sans.

And after that, Sans helped him unpack the house. Not that it took very long; Gaster didn't have many possessions. Sans had been quick to point out this fact as well... in a very judgemental manner for a seven year old. Gaster was made to feel oddly guilty about his rather pathetic living arrangements by his tiny remarks.

To be fair, Gaster wanted to see Asgore anyway. After what he saw last night, he couldn't just sit back. He needed to know what the Barrier was.

Which is how life found them stepping off the boat into Hotland.

Sans clung to Gaster's leg.  
[Sans, what's wrong?] Gaster wondered.

[Th.. this place… has lava everywhere!] He squeaked.

[It IS called Hotland, Sans.] Gaster chuckled. [And, Mount Ebbott is a volcano, after all.]  
[A volcano!? They pushed me into a volcano?!]

Gaster blinked. [Do you….remember?]

Sans nodded quickly, but then paused, and shook his head slowly. [I… thought I did…]

Gaster smiled sadly. [I understand.] He reassured him. [It happens to me all the time.]

[Where are we going…?] Sans asked.

[Well, you will need a bed of your own…. And we will probably need a dining table…. All these things I never would have considered, really.] He paused and then added, [And, I want to speak to a friend of mine. I have… questions. And, they have a son, about your age.]

Sans pulled a face. [I don't know… I don't…. really get on well with….. kids my age…]

[I'm sure you will get along with Asriel just fine. He's a very kind boy.] Gaster said.

[If….If you say so, sir…]

Gaster frowned a little. [You don't have to call me 'sir'.] He said. [You can call me by my name, if you like.]

[Your name?]

[Gaster!]

Sans looked up at him. [Mister Gaster.]

Gaster sighed. [Just Gaster is fine, I really don't mind!]

[But all adults want to be called Miss, or Mister.] He said.

[They do?] Gaster wondered. [What about your parents?]

Sans looked away.

[...Oh.] That meant one of two things, and Gaster was not really sure which he prefered. [Well, don't worry about it, okay?] He said. [If you don't call me Mister, then I won't get angry.]

Sans nodded, but still did not seem willing to try it.

Gaster led Sans by the hand through the streets of the big city. It was far more pleasant for their kind than when Asgore had first brought him through… the people no longer looked at him as if he was the strangest thing they had ever seen, or as if he were going to go on a rampage.

Which was good for Sans. The child was nervous enough without having to face that kind of scorn.

Thinking that it would be better to speak with Asgore before going and purchasing large furniture pieces, he led them up to the castle gate.

Sans stared up at the huge gate and the castle behind it. [W…..we're…. Going in there?!]

[Yes!] Gaster responded. [This is where my friend lives.]

[In a Castle?]

Gaster smiled at him. [He is king, after all.]

[KING?!]

"Halt!" One of the guards shouted as they approached. "Who goes there?"

Gaster smiled. "I moved out yesterday, and you have already forgotten me?" He asked.

The guards looked him up and down. "Oh… Doctor Gaster…." They looked a little sheepish. "Sorry… We weren't expecting you today. And…. the Captain has had us on edge today."

Gaster raised an eyebrow. "Today?"

"More than normal, I mean." They explained. "He seems…. Agitated."

Not that Gaster thought him to have ever been any other way, but, the guards spent more time with him than the scientist did, so, perhaps there was something more subtle at play.

"Well, you know you have nothing to fear from me." He said. "May we come in?"

That made the guards blink. "We?"

Gaster turned slightly, to reveal Sans, who had been hiding behind his legs. "I have someone I wish to introduce to the king."

"Oh!" They smiled at the boy. "We didn't know you had a son, Doctor!"

Sans blushed, smiling a little.

"He's only come into my care as of yesterday…" Gaster said, not blind to how happy being called his son seemed to make Sans. "I wanted Asgore to meet him."

"But of course, Doctor! Do you need an escort?"

Gaster gave Sans' hand a squeeze, and started to walk through the door. "No, thank you. I think I can guess where he will be, at this hour."

"Good to see you again, Doctor!"

Gaster couldn't help but feel a sense of safety, back inside the castle walls. It was hard to imagine he only left yesterday… it felt like years of adventure had been crammed into one night.

[Those guards… let you in with hardly a thought.] Sans remarked.

[Well, this is where I used to live.] Gaster explained. [Before moving into the house we're in now.]

They walked together through the halls, before coming to the grand set of doors that lead to the throne room. As Gaster had supposed, there was a Chamberlain outside, which meant the King was meeting with ministers and other such people.

"Ah, Doctor! You've come back!" The Chamberlain exclaimed.

Gaster smiled. "Just because I live somewhere else, does not mean that I will never come back into the castle!" He said. "Not when I have so many friends here!"

The other creature smiled. "Good to hear. There were a few tears here yesterday afternoon, when his Majesty told us that you were leaving."

Gaster blinked at that. "There… were?"

"You had lived here for such a long time, and left so suddenly! It was quite a shock!"

Gaster blushed. "I…. didn't realise…"  
Sans looked up at the ash coloured blush on the older skeleton's face. [...You really DO blush in grey! How weird!]

[Oh shush.] Gaster huffed. [No teasing, Sans!]

The Chamberlain looked down at the child. "Oh!... Doctor, who is this?"

Gaster smiled. "This is Sans." He explained. "I had brought him to meet Asgore… as he is living with me now."

"Ahhh, I see! So that is why you have come back so soon."

Gaster nodded. "Is he free? I also had something I needed to discuss."

The Chamberlain looked at his notes. "Well, I believe the next person who had arranged to see his Majesty isn't here yet. So, I will slot you in next." He said. "Take a seat… he won't be long."

Gaster smiled. "Thank you." And with that, he led Sans over to the seats against the wall of the antechamber.


	36. Formal Meeting

It was only a few minutes of waiting, but it could have been a lifetime. Gaster was watching Sans, who was sitting beside him awkwardly, trying to not be in awe of the castle around him when he couldn't take it all in fast enough. And he was about to meet a king!

The Chamberlain called for them shortly after. "Doctor Gaster! Asgore will see you now."  
Gaster smiled, and stood, offering a hand to Sans. [Ready?]

[Y-yes… I guess…!]

[Have you met a king before?] The doctor wondered.

[No! Of course not!]

Gaster arched a brown. [...Of course. Come on then.]

The two skeletons trotted through the large doors into the throne room.

Asgore was sitting on his throne, and Toriel was standing beside him.

"Ah! Gaster!" Asgore exclaimed, spotting him. "Couldn't keep away, could you." He added with a grin.  
Gaster chuckled in response, not oblivious to how Sans was hiding behind him, clinging to his shirt. "Am I not allowed to visit?"

Toriel smiled. "Of course you are. You're a dear friend, after all."

"Although this is rather formal, Gaster. A meeting and all?"

The skeleton nodded. "Well, I did have a few things I wanted to discuss with you. With you both." He said, voice serious.  
His tone made the two Boss Monsters blink. "Gaster… has something happened?"  
"Well, yes, I suppose it has." And with that introduction, he turned, and tried to pry Sans off his back. [Come on, Sans, they aren't going to hurt you…]

Asgore stood. "Gaster…. Is that….. A child?"  
"Yes. This is Sans." Gaster told them, as Toriel crept forwards to get a better look at the boy. "He fell down the volcano shaft last night."

Toriel crouched down beside them and smiled at Sans. "Hello, Sans."

Sans didn't let go of Gaster's shirt, but he did peek at Toriel owlishly.

Asgore started to make his way across the throne room. "He fell down the volcano shaft? Like Chara?"  
"And like myself." Gaster said. "I thought that Sans might feel a little more at home with some companions his own agel… and I… want to talk to you about what I saw there."

Asgore blinked. "Saw?"

Toriel reached out and put a hand on Sans' shoulder. "Sans dear, would you like to meet my children? They'd love to meet you."

Sans looked worriedly at Gaster. The taller skeleton smiled down at him reassuringly.  
[You'll like them.]

[But I… won't be able to talk to them… They speak all weird.]

"Oh, Gaster, he speaks just like you did when you arrived." Toriel said.

"Yes… I'm thinking that it's a side effect of whatever happened to us when we fell." Gaster said. "Are the other children about? Sans is still very shy, and a little worried as he hasn't learnt the more common word down here yet. He's only been here a very short time…"

Toriel smiled and straightened. "Ah, I know just the thing! We can all go together, and I'll fetch a drawing pad for the little one."

Sans puffed out his cheekbones in a pout. [I'm not… little.] He muttered.

Gaster smiled at that, but didn't remark.

Asgore was looking worried. Gaster showing up only a day after moving out was indeed a joy to him… it meant that the skeleton wasn't trying to cut all his ties with them. But to appear with this boy…. Asgore would have loved to think that Gaster had a partner and they had a child together, however, he was not naive enough to think all that could have happened in one day.

If Sans entered the underground by falling through the crater… that had… other implications.

"Let us go to the study." Asgore said. "I will get the other children, and we can have tea."


	37. No Answer

It took a long while for Asgore to calm Asriel enough to stop hounding Sans with questions. Chara was easier to persuade, being the quieter of the two. Finally, the three were sitting down at a table in the study, snacks and juice out for them all with paper and pencils out for drawing and colouring to their heart's content.

Gaster, Asgore and Toriel were at another table, and Gaster kept glancing over at the children to make sure Sans was alright. Sans was also continuing to glance over at the adults. He'd not considered himself a talkative child, but it was one thing to not want to talk to others, and another to not be able to.

"So…" Asgore said, quietly, placing his teacup on its saucer. "Tell us about Sans."

Gaster looked back at the king and queen. "Well… when I got to the crater, he… was already falling." The skeleton told them. "I was too late to save him, though."

"Save him…. Was he… human?" Toriel asked.

Gaster nodded, trying to be sensible about this. "There is something in that cavern. It's like… a bubble. It…. did something to him, after he died."  
"A bubble?" Toriel wondered.

"It was a weird shimmer." Gaster said. "Like how soap bubbles are sort of… rainbow?"

Asgore frowned. "I… don't understand, Gaster. What did it do?"  
Gaster seemed a little upset. "Well… it looked like it was…. Sucking something out of his soul. Magic, maybe." He explained. "But it wriggled free, and then went back to him. And he turned into… what he is now."

"But that… can't be." Asgore responded, clearly bothered by the thought of this. "Humans can't…. Become monsters."  
Gaster frowned. "Well, clearly they can." He said. "Because it's happened twice."

Toriel and Asgore exchanged a glance. "Twice…. You don't mean to say…."  
"I appeared out of thin air, otherwise." He finished.

Asgore seemed worried. "Gaster… the only thing I can think of that even remotely resembles what you saw… is the Barrier." He said. Sometimes it was nice to have yourself proven right, but Gaster wasn't sure if this was one of those times.

"You've never really explained the Barrier to me." The skeleton said.

Asgore sighed, and sipped at his tea.

"Gaster…" Toriel said, voice wobbling a little. "We…. Monster-Kind fought against the humans in a war." She explained. "And, we lost. The humans forced us down here, and cast a spell over the mountain. There is a Barrier that seals us in…. Things can pass through it to come in… but nothing can get out… unless their soul is more powerful than the Barrier is."

That…. wasn't what Gaster was expecting. "But…. Monsters have so much magic…"  
"That's the problem." Toriel continued, while Asgore was still awkwardly sipping his tea. "We have so much magic in our bodies, that we don't have as much in our souls. Humans on the other hand, seem to be the other way around: magic in their souls but not in their bodies."

Gaster frowned, and put a hand on his chest in thought.

"I don't recommend trying it, Gaster." Asgore said, seeming to hear Gaster's thoughts. "The war is still too new. You wouldn't be treated kindly on the other side, even if you could get through."

"So then what was it doing to Sans? To me?"  
"I don't have an answer, Gaster."

It was aggravating. Not that it was really Asgore's fault… the Barrier was clearly a form of magic that was foreign to them, although Gaster was surprised to hear that the Barrier had been cast by humans, when it had been his impression that magic was for stage shows and nothing to be taken seriously.

"...This is going to keep happening." Gaster predicted. "I'm of the opinion that if I hadn't been able to catch Chara when they fell, they would have become a monster, too."

"I don't know what you would have us do, Gaster. We can't very well fill in the crater." Asgore said.

Well, they could, as far as the Barrier, at least. But that was a waste of time, given that the drop would still be enough to kill someone fairly handily. Gaster lay his head on the tabletop beside his teacup. He was tired.

Asgore pet his friend's back. "Hey, come on now…. I'm sure we can get to the bottom of it."


End file.
